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AUTHOR: 


LEFFINGWELL,  G.  W 


TITLE: 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE 
LIFE  AT  ROME 

PLACE: 

NEW  YORK 

DA  TE : 

1918 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 
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Leffingwell,  Georgia  Williams  ,::=  1  d  1893- 
Social  and  private  life  at  Rome  in  the  time  of  Plautus  and  Terence- IhT 

icroform:!  ,==  Icby  Georgia  Williams  Leffingwell. 
Mew  Yor  k  ..,  ---  I  bColumb i a  Un  i  ver s i  t y  n  -  \  c^i  9"l  8  „ 
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MRNUFflCTURED  TO  fillM  STRNDRRDS 
BY  RPPLIED  IMRGE,  INC. 


STUDIES  IN  HISTORY,  ECONOMICS  AND  PUBLIC  LAW 

EDITED  BY  THE   FACULTY  OF  POLITICAL  SCIENCE 
OF  COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


Volume  LXXXI] 


[Number  1 


Whole  Number  188 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE 

LIFE  AT  ROME   IN   THE  TIME   OF 

PLAUTUS  AND  TERENCE 


BT 


GEORGIA  WILLIAMS  LEFFIKGWELL,  Ph.D. 

Sutro  Fellow  in  Iliston/,  Vassar  Oolkge 


'^m  Sork 
COLUMBIA    UNIVERSITY 

LONGMANS,  GREEN  &  CO.,  AGENTS, 

London  :  P.  S.  Kins  &  Son,  Ltd. 

I918 


Columbia  WiniuttBxtii 

FACULTY   OF    POLITICAL    SCIENCE 

Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  LL.D.,  President.  Munroe  Smith,  LL.D.,  Professor 
of  Roman  Law  and  Comparative  Jurisprudence.  E.  R.  A.  Seligman,  LL.D.,  Profes- 
sor of  Political  Economy  and  Finance.  H.  L.  Osgood,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  History.  J. 
Bassett  Moore,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  International  l^w.  W.  A.  Dunning,  LL.D.,  Pro- 
fessor of  History  and  Political  Philosophy.  F.  H.  Giddings,LL.D.,  Professor  of  Sociology. 
T.  B.  Clark,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Political  Economy.  J.  H.  Robinson,  Ph.D.,  Pro 
lessor  of  History.  H.  R.  Seager,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Political  Economy.  H.L.  Moore, 
Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Political  Economy.  F.  J.  E.  Woodbridge,  LL.D.,  Professor  of 
Philosophy  and  Dean.  W.  R.  Shepherd,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  History.  J.  T.  Shotwell, 
Ph.D.,  Professor  of  History.  V.  G.  Simkhoritch,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Economic 
History.  S.  T.  Deyinc,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Social  Economy.  H.  Johnson,  A.  M., 
Profes.sor  of  History.  S.  McC.  Lindsay,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Social  Legislation.  W. 
D.  Guthrie,  A.M.,  Professor  of  Constitutional  Law.  C.  J.  H  Hayes,  Ph.D.,  Associate 
Professor  of  History.  A.  A.  Tenney,  Ph.D.,  Assistant  Professor  of  Sociology.  R,  L. 
Schuyler,  Ph.D.,  Assistant  Professor  of  History.  R.  E.  Chaddock,  Ph.D.,  Asso- 
ciate  Professor  of  Statistics.  A.  C.  McGiffert,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Church  History 
in  Union  Theological  Seminary.  W.  W.  Rockwell,  Ph.D.,  Associate  Professor  of 
Church  History  in  Union  Theological  Seminary.  D.  S.  Muzzey,  Ph.D.,  Associate 
Professor  of  History.  E.  M.  Salt,  Ph.D.,  Assistant  Professor  of  Public  Law.  T.  R. 
Powell,  Ph.D.,  Associate  Professor  of  Constitutional  Law.  H.  L.  McBain,  Ph.D.,  Pro- 
fessor of  Municipal  Science.  W.  C.  Mitchell,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Economics.  B. 
B.  Kendrick,  Ph.D.,  Assistant  Professor  of  History.  C.  D.  Hazen,  Ph.D.,  Professor 
of  History. 

SCHEME  OF  INSTRUCTION 
GROUP  I.    HISTORY  AND  POLITICAL  PHILOSOPHY. 

Subject  A.  Ancient  and  Oriental  Hbtory,  twenty-two  courses.  Subject  B.  Medieval 
History,  twenty-four  courses.  Subject  C.  Modern  European  History,  twenty-five  courses. 
Subject  D.  American  History,  twenty  courses.  Subject  E.  History  of  Thought  and 
Culture,  forty  courses.  Courses  in  Church  History  given  at  the  Union  Seminary  are 
open  to  the  students  of  the  School  of  Political  Science. 

GROUP  n.    PUBLIC  LAW  AND  COMPARATIVE  JURISPRUDENCE. 

Subject  A.  Politics,  seventeen  courses.  Subject  B.  Constitutional  and  Administrative 
Law,  eight  courses.  Subject  C.  International  Law,  nine  courses.  Subject  D.  Roman 
Law  and  Comparative  Jurl«prudence,  five  courses.  Courses  in  Law  given  in  the  Colum- 
l»a  Law  School  arc  open  to  the  students  of  the  School  of  Political  Science. 

GROUP  m.    ECONOMICS  AND  SOCIAL  SCIENCE. 

Subject  A.  Political  Economy  and  Finance,  twenty-three  courses.  Applied  Eco- 
nomics, eight  courses.  SuWect  B.  Sociol<^  and  Statistics,  twenty-six  courses.  Sub- 
ject C.  &)cial  Economy,  fifteen  courses.  Courses  in  Social  Economy  given  in  the 
School  of  Philanthropy  are  open  to  students  in  the  School  of  Political  Science. 


The  greatCT  number  of  the  courses  consist  of  lectures ;  a  smaller  number  take  the 
fcmn  of  research  under  the  direction  of  a  professor.  The  degrees  of  A.M.  and  Ph.D.  are 
given  to  students  who  fulfil  the  requirements  prescribed.  (For  particulars,  see  Columbia 
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candidate  for  a  degree  may  attend  any  of  the  courses  at  any  time  by  payment  of  a  propor- 
tional fee.  Ten  or  more  Cutting  fellowthips  of  $1000  each  or  more,  four  University 
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SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME  IN 
THE  TIME  OF  PLAFTl  S  AND  TERENCE 


STUDIES  IN  HISTORY,  ECONOMICS  AND  PUBLIC  LAW 

EDITED  BY  THE  FACULTY  OF  POLITICAL  SCIENCE 
OF  COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


Volume  LXXXI] 


[Nximber  1 


Whole  Number  188 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE 

LIFE  AT  ROME    IN   THE  TIME   OF 

FLAUTUS  AND  TERENCE 


BY 


GEORGIA  WILLIAMS  LEFFINGWELL,  Ph.D. 

Suiro  Fellow  in  History^  Vassar  ColUge 


COLUMBIA    UNIVERSITY 

LONGMANS,  GREEN  &  CO.,  AGENTS, 

London  :  P.  S.  King  &  Son,  Ltd. 

1918 


Copyright,  1918 

•  BY 

GEORGIA  WILLIAMS  LEFFINGWELL 


®0 

THE  MEMORY  OF 
PROFESSOR    GEORGE   WILLIS   BOTSFORD 

AT  WHOSE  SUGGESTION  THIS  WORK  WAS  BEGUN  AND  WHOSE 

KINDLY   GUIDANCE   AND    HELPFUL   CRITICISM 

MADE    POSSIBLE    ITS    COMPLETION 


,1  « 


CONTENTS 

Introduction 9 

CHAPTER  I 

Dwelling,  Town  and  Country 

(a)  Town-house  and  Furniture    .   .   .   .    • 20 

(b)  Country  Estate 34 

CHAPTER  n 
Women  and  Marriage 39 

CHAPTER  III 

Children  and  Education 

(a)  Children 57 

(b)  General  Education 62 

(c)  Higher  Education— Cultural  Studies 67 

CHAPTER  IV 
Slaves 73 

CHAPTER  V 
Freedmen  and  Clients • 9i 

CHAPTER  VI 
Finance  and  Industry 9^ 

CHAPTER  Vll 
Religion ^^3 

CHAPTER  VIII 
Morals  and  Character ^^ 

Bibliography ^^* 

7]  7 


INTRODUCTION 


To  assemble  as  far  as  possible  the  source  evidence  on 
social  aiid  private  life  at  Rome  during  the  first  half  of  the 
second  century  B.  C,  and  from  this  evidence  to  draw  cer- 
tain conclusions  which  will  give  a  clearer  understanding  of 
the  habits  of  thought  and  the  feelings  of  the  average  citizen  I 
of  the  time  is  the  puq30se  of  this  study. 

While  literan^  sources  for  Roman  life  in  this  period  of 
the  Republic  are  less  available  than  for  the  Ciceronian  age 
or  for  the  Empire,  a  knowledge  of  the  earlier  period  is  of 
importance  not  only  for  its  own  sake  as  a  critical  moment 
in  the  historv  of  Graeco-Roman  civilization,  but  as  a  basis 
for  comparison  with  later  developments.  The  very  fact  of 
the  scarcity  of  material  and  the  consequent  lack  of  informa- 
tion in  regard  to  this  subject  may  be  given  as  the  chief 
reason  for  the  present  work. 

Roman  life  in  the  Imperial  period  has  received  a  large 
amount  of  attention  and  been  treated  in  exhaustive  detail 
by  modern  writers,  but  the  question  of  Roman  life  in  the 
period  of  the  Republic  has  been  comparatively  neglected. 
Warde  Fowler  in  his  Social  Life  at  Ronw  in  the  age  of 
Cicero  embodies  in  his  chapters  a  series  of  delightful 
sketches  of  conditions  at  the  close  of  the  Republican  pericxi, 
but  the  book  throws  little  light  on  the  century  preceding  the 
Ciceronian  age,  and  in  any  case  is  of  little  value  for  refer- 
ence purposes.  The  larger  works  on  Roman  life,  such  as 
Marquardt's  Privaflehcn  dcr  Romcr,  devote  some  attention 
to  Republican  conditions.  The  statements,  however,  are 
scattered  and  more  or  less  general,  and  the  source  references 
given  are  far  from  complete. 

9]  9 


I 


lO 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[lO 


Contemporary  literary  sources  for  the  period  consist  of 
the  Histories  of  Polybius,  the  De  re  rustica  of  Cato,  but  most 
important,  the  dramatic  works  of  Plautus  and  Terence. 
Any  use  of  the  plays  of  these  two  authors,  as  a  source,  neces- 
sarily involves  a  careful  consideration  of  the  question  how 
far  the  material  of  the  comedies  is  Roman,  and  how  far  it 
is  simply  a  reproduction  of  the  Greek,  a  fact  which  explains 
perhaps  more  than  any  other  the  absence  of  modern  works 
dealing  with  the  Roman  life  of  that  age. 

The  generally  recognized  intermingling  of  both  Greek 
/and  Roman  elements  in  the  comedies  has  resulted  m  a 
rather  confusing  habit  on  the  part  of  many  writers.  The 
plays  are  drawn  upon  indiscriminately  to  illustrate  or  affirm 
various  points  of  either  Greek  life  or  Roman  life  without 
any  systematic  attempt  to  define  the  reason  for  this  arbi- 
trary choice. 

Modem  writers  differ  in  their  judgment,  but  the  general 
impression  would  appear  to  be  that  the  plays  are  so  largely 
Greek  that  they  are  of  comparatively  little  value  for  infor- 
mation on  Roman  life  and  habits.  Sellar  voices  this  senti- 
ment in  the  definite  statement  that  Plautus  "  had  no 
intention  of  presenting  to  his  audience  the  outward  condi- 
tions of  Roman  or  ItaHan  life."  In  support  of  this  he 
emphasizes  the  absence  of  all  gentile  designations  among 
the  richer  personages  of  the  comedies  as  in  itself  a  sufficient 

proof.  ^ 

The  explanation,  however,  of  this  absence  is  both  possible 
and  easy.  The  contemporary  poet  was  given  very  little 
license  along  certain  lines.  To  mention  Roman  citizens  by 
name  or  to  allude  to  specific  gentes  involved  considerable 
risk,  vide  the  imprisonment  which  overtook  the  jwet  Naevius 
for  his  attacks  on  the  Metelli.     Doubtless  it  was  safer  and 


1  Sellar,  Roman  Poets  of  the  Republic  (Oxford,  1905),  P-  169. 


II] 


INTRODUCTION 


II 


more  advisable,  therefore,  to  avoid  as  far  as  possible  any  | 
reference  which  might  possibly  be  interpreted  as  a  libelous  \ 
reflection  upon  some  sensitive  citizen,  and  to  adopt  the  \ 
avenue  of   safety  offered  by  setting  the  scene  ostensibly  \ 

far  from  Rome. 

Wallon,  who  draws  extensively  on  Plautus  as  a  source 
for  Roman  conditions,  apparently  has  much  this  idea  m 
mind  when  he  says :  "  Le  peuple  romain  voulait  bien  qu'on 
le  jouat,  mais  seulement  sous  le  costume  grec;  et  il  ne  se 
fachait  pas  de  voir  soulever  un  coin  du  manteau,  quand 
le  rideau  allait  couvrir  la  scene."  '  The  choice  of  the  spot 
in  which  the  action  took  place,  moreover,  did  not  rest  en- 
tirely with  the  poet.  As  Oldfather  tells  us,  ''  so  far  were 
the  police  from  allowing  the  dignity  of  a  Roman  citizen  to 
be  diminished  that,  to  all  appearances,  not  even  the  fabtda 
togata  might  be  set  in  Rome,  but  only  in  some  town  of  the 
Latin  Confederacy."  * 

The  second  argument  of  Sellar  is  based  upon  the  fact 
that  there  is  no  distinction  in  station  among  the  personages 
except  that  of  rich  and  poor,  freeman  and  slave,  and  hence 
no  recognition  of  ''  those  great  distinctions  of  birth,  privi-  ; 
lege,  and  political  status,  which  were  so  pervading  a  charac-  ; 
teristic  of  Roman  life."  This  statement  will  be  referred 
to  again  in  the  chapter  on  "  Finance  and  Industry."  It  is 
suflficient  to  say  at  this  point  that  the  division  of  the  charac- 
ters of  the  comedies  on  a  basis  of  wealth  and  poverty  is  a 
reflection  of  one  of  the  most  striking  characteristics  of 
Roman  society  of  the  time.    To  quote  from  Duruy : 

The  strife  of  classes  sprang  up  again,  and  as  in  early  times 
the  city  contained  two  distinct  peoples.     If  time  and  law  had 

»  Wallon,  Histoire  de  I'esclavage  dans  I'antiquite   (Paris,  1879),  vol. 
ii,  p.  231. 
*  Classical  Weekly  (1914),  Oldfather,  "Roman  Comedy  ,**  p.  218. 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[12 


12 

almost  effaced  the  distinction  between  patrician  and  plebeian, 
a  higher  barrier  was  now  rising  between  rich  and  poor,  the 
former  growing  prouder  and  more  insolent,  the  latter  more 
wretched  and  submissive.^ 

Furthermore  the  statement  as  to  the  lack  of  recognition 
of  any  political  distinctions  may  be  met  by  a  citation  of  a 
few  of  the  references  in  Plautus:  dictator  {Pseud.  415-^)* 
quaestor  {Bacc.  1075),  praetor  {Poen.  584-5).  ^^iles 
{Men.  590),  tresuiri  {Aid.  416,  Asin.  131),  senatus  {Asin. 
871,  Cos.  536,  Epid.  189),  comitia  {Aul.  700,  Pseud.  1232, 
True.  819),  praefectura  {Cas.  99),  prouincia  {Cas.  103, 
Capt.  474),  de  foro  .  .  .  in  tribu  {Capt.  475-6),  patriciis 
piieris  {Capt.  1002). 

Legrande  brings  up  another  point  of  objection  when  he 
says :  "  De  fait,  les  scandales  et  les  exploits  gallants  qui 
en  sont  de  frequents  episodes,  les  courtisanes,  prostitueurs, 
parasites,  artistes  en  cuisine  qui  y  jouent  communement  un 
role  devaient  etre,  durant  le  He  siecle  avant  notre  ere,  presque 
ignores  a  Rome  ".  This  argument,  however,  is  very  clearly 
not  supported  by  fact.  Numerous  references  from  the 
sources  attest  indubitably  that  such  conditions  were  in  the 
most  striking  way  characteristic  of  the  Rome  of  the  time. 
Compare  the  passage  of  Polybius  describing  the  average 
Roman  youth  wasting  himself  "  on  favorite  youths,  .  .  . 
on  mistresses,  on  banquets  enlivened  with  poetry  and  wine, 
and  all  the  extravagant  expenditure  they  entailed."  Com- 
pare the  statement  of  Livy  "  then  the  cook,  whom  the  an- 
cients considered  as  the  meanest  of  their  slaves,  both  in  esti- 
n-pation  and  use,  became  highly  valuable,  and  what  was 
considered  as  a  servile  office  began  to  be  considered  as  an 
art.''    Compare  the  complaints  of  Cato  that  it  w^as  difficult  to 


^Sellar,  loc.  cit.;  cf.  Duruy,  History  of  Rome  (Boston,  1890),  vol.  ii, 
sec.  i,  p.  260. 


13] 


INTRODUCTION 


13 


save  a  city  in  which  a  fish  was  dearer  than  an  ox,  or  in 
which  a  cook  brought  a  higher  price  than  a  horse.^  Judg- 
ing from  their  attitude  we  can  hardly  agree  with  Legrande 
that  the  elements  he  refers  to  were  "  presque  ignores  a 
Rome  "  in  the  second  century  B.  C. 

It  is  undeniable  that  there  is  much  in  the  plays  that  is 
wnthout  question  Greek,  but  this  may  be  taken  in  part  as 
evidence  that  the  Roman  public  of  the  time  had  made  con- 
siderable progress  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Greek  language 
and  had  even  acquired  a  certain  amount  of  Hellenic  culture.  \ 
Greek  titles,  Greek  words  in  the  text  itself,  Greek  endings 
attached  to  Latin  roots  such  as  ferritribaces  {Most.  356), 
legends  of  Greek  mythology-  {Bacc.  275,  Merc.  469,  ^^^w. 
745,  Stick.  305)  are  introduced  not  with  any  explanation 
but  simply  as  casual  allusions.  The  fact  that  they  are  present 
in  great  number  in  poets  who  were  essentially  popular,  sug- 
gests that  the  spectators  in  general  must  have  been  capable 

of  grasping  them. 

This  is  especially  true  when  we  consider  the  character  of 
the  Roman  audience,  and  their  impatience  with  spectacles 
which  were  incomprehensible  or  foreign  to  their  tastes."  The 
poets  are  careful  to  heed  this  attitude  on  the  part  of  their 
hearers.  The  prologue  of  the  Casina  (68,  et  seq.)  shows 
the  necessity  for  explanation  of  customs  which  were  con- 
trary to  the  habitual  usages  of  the  Romans,  and  again  in 
the  Stichus  (445-8).  when  an  incident  might  shock  the 
spectators  by  its  apparent  improbability,  the  actor  had  his 
justification  ready  and  interrupted  himself  to  explain: 
"  Don't  be  surprised  at  this  .  .  .  we're  allowed  to  do  this 
at  Athens."  ^ 

»  Legrande,  Matiere  de  la  comedie  nouvelle  (Lyons,  iQio),  p.  57  cf. 
Polyb.  XXXn.  II ;  Liv.  XXXIX.  6.  9;  P^^t.  Cat.  maj.  8;  Cato  Cabmen 
de  moribus  2,  ed.  Jord.  p.  83. 

2  Polyb.  XXX.  13  cf.    Ter.  Hec.  Pro.  33,  et  seq. 

3  Cf.  Ter.  Phorm.  125-6  where  a  principle  of  Attic  law  is  explained. 


14 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[14 


In  some  cases  this  principle  is  carried  even  further,  and 
a  passage  of  the  orig-inal  which  presents  a  foreign  custom 
is  changed  by  the  poet  in  his  adaptation  from  the  Greek, 
/m  example  of  this  is  found  in  the  Phormio  of  Terence 
y;88,  ct  seq.).  In  the  original  piece  by  Apollodorus,  ac- 
cording to  Donatus,  Antipho's  informant  is  the  barber  who 
has  been  cutting  the  girl's  hair  for  her  mourning;  in  the 
Roman  version  this  is  entirely  altered  ''  fte  externis  moribiis 
spectatorem  Romanum  offenderet'' — Antipho  and  his 
friends  are  sitting  in  the  barber-shop,  when  "  a  certain 
youth  enters  "  and  tells  his  story.^  No  question  of  a  mourn- 
ing practise  familiar  and  ordinary  enough  in  the  Greek  of 
course,  but  offensive  perhaps  to  the  Romans,  no  attempt  td 
instruct  the  Romans  that  "  this  is  the  custom  in  Greece  ", 
but  simply  the  avoidance  of  all  question  by  omitting  any 
reference  to  the  troublesome  practice. 

A  similar  method  of  procedure  is  illustrated  in  the 
Heaitton  timorumenos  of  the  same  author  (61-4).  Happily 
this  passage  can  be  parallelled  with  the  corresj>onding  pas- 
sage from  the  original  piece  of  Menander.  The  lines  of 
the  Greek  run :  "  By  Athena,  are  you  possessed  of  a  demon 
at  so  many  years  of  age?  For  you  are  sixty  or  even  more, 
and  of  estates  in  Halai  yours  is  the  fairest,  yea  by  Zeus, 
among  the  three,  and,  the  luckiest  feature,  it  is  unmort- 
gaged " ;  in  contrast  to  the  lines  of  Terence :  *'  For  faith  in 
gods  and  men,  w'hat  do  you  want?  What  do  you  seek? 
You  are  sixty  years  of  age  or  more,  I  should  estimate.  No- 
one  in  this  neighborhood  has  a  better  or  more  valuable  farm 
than  yours." 

The  original  is  replete  with  local  allusions:  the  reference 
to  the  Greek  folk-belief  that  a  haifxuiv  caused  strange  actions; 
to  the  deme  *AAcu  Atiwv  situated   about   two   hours    from 


^  Don.  ad  Ter.  Phorm.  I.  2.  41. 


15] 


INTRODUCTION 


15 


Athens  between  Zoster  and  Kolias ;  the  description  in  terms 
of  proverbial  allusion  to  the  farm  as  "  among  the  three  ", 
iv  rots  rpLCTLv^  an  expression  which  has  not  been  explained ; 
the  use  of  the  word  ao-rtKrov  i.  e.  a  farm  which  was  unmort- 
gaged and  without  6poi  or  mortgage-stone  planted  on  its 
boundaries.  On  the  other  hand  the  Roman  adaptation  re- 
tains only  the  general  substance  of  Menander's  words,  and 
all  the  specially  Greek  details  which  were  without  interest 
or  meaning  to  the  Roman  audience,  become  generalized 
into  a  pleasant  and  easily  comprehended  whole.' 

Furthermore  the  comic  poets  sometimes  consider  it  neces- 
sary, in  spite  of  the  fact  that  their  audience  had  a  certain 
amount  of  familiarity  with  Greek  literature  and  mythology, 
to  insert  an  explanation  of  m}rthological  allusions  which 
were  perhaps  more  difficult.  Such  an  explanation  was 
very  clearly  not  a  part  of  the  original  text.  Consider  for 
example  the  passage  of  the  Auhdarm  (555"^)'  ^^'^ich  reads: 
*'  If  Areus  watched  them,  the  one  who  was  all  e>^es  | 
{oculeus),  the  one  of  whom  Juno  once  made  use  to  watch    t 

Jupiter."  '' 

Occasionally  we  find  in  the  comedies  a  slave  swearing  by 
Greek  divinities  or  even  speaking  the  Greek  tongue  {Cas. 
730.  cf.  Capt.  880,  et  seq.).  Doubtless  such  slaves  are  them- 
selves Greek,  but  it  is  evident  that  this  does  not  obviate  the 
possibility  of  their  being  in  Rome  and  sennng  a  Roman 

1  Cf.  Legrande,  op.  cit.,  p.  53,  ^t  ^eq.,  on  this  point.  Legrande  also  notes 
the  passage  in  Terence,  Phorm.  49:  '' uhi  initiabunt"  as  opposed  to  the 
original  of  Apollodorus,  which  speaks  expressly  of  the  mysteries  of 
Samothrace.  He  further  considers  that  the  Roman  version  of  the 
Epidkus,  in  which,  when  the  captive  is  recognized  as  the  sister  of  the 
youth,  he  is  consoled  by  a  flute-player  at  the  house,  is  probably  different 
in  the  Greek,  as  Attic  laws  permitted  the  marriage  of  brother  and  sister. 

»C/.  Plaut.  Epid.  604,  Merc.  690;  Leo,  Plautinische  Forschungen 
(Berlin,  1912),  p.  in,  supports  the  belief  that  such  explanations  were 
self-evidently  not  included  in  the  original. 


i6 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[l6 


17] 


INTRODUCTION 


17 


master.  As  Leo  points  out  in  his  Plautinische  Forschungen, 
Plautus  "  niir  Sklaven  und  Personen  niederer  Schicht 
griechische  Brocken  in  den  Mund  leg-t."  '  Exceptions  to 
this  general  rule  are  found  in  the  Trinummus  (187)  and 
the  Bacchides  (1162),  where  Greek  is  spoken  by  old  men 
{sems),  but  in  no  instance  is  that  language  used  by  other 

characters. 

The  plays  present  many  customs  and  practices  which  are 
so  clearly  Greek  that  at  first  glance  the  passages  appear 
indubitably  to  be  mere  reproductions  of  the  original.    Judg- 
ing from  the  caution  exercised  by  the  Roman  poets  in  this 
partiailar,  however,  such  a  conclusion  cannot  be  reached 
without  careful  consideration.     The  Romans  derived  their 
\  culture  so  largely  from  Greek  sources  that  many  of  the 
jmost  common  usages  of  Roman  life  had  Greek  antecedents. 
It  must  further  be  remembered  that  in  this  period  especially, 
the  Romans  had  l>een  brought  into  even  closer  contact  with 
Greek  civilization.     With  the  broadening  of  Roman  intel- 
f  lectual  and  material  life,  many  new  Greek  customs  were 
j  being  introduced.     Therefore,  as  is  to  be  expected,  such 
customs  were  appropriately  and  naturally  mentioned  in  a 
play  presented  to  a  Roman  audience  already  familiar  with 
them  in  its  actual  daily  life.    "  Ce  sont  des  moeurs  grecques. 
mais  deja  transplantees  en  Italic  et  melees  aux  habitudes 
des  plus  nobles  families."  ^ 

The  verisimilitude,  the  realism,  and  hence  the  success 
of  a  theatrical  presentation  has  its  foundation  in  the  repro- 
duction of  the  habits  of  ever}^-day  life.  Oliver  recognizes 
this  condition  when  he  says  "  the  comedies  of  Plautus, 
though  largely  Greek  in  inspiration,  yet  naturally  must 
reflect  the  immediate  surroundings  of  their  author."  *     If 

*  Leo,  op.  cit.,  p.  106. 

^  Wallon,  op.  cit.y  vol.  ii,  p.  266. 

•Oliver,  Roman  Economic  Conditions  (Toronto,  1907),  p.  42. 


metaphorical  phrases  from  banking  and  business  operations 
and  the  like  had  been  mere  translation,  they  would  have 
had  no  meaning  for  a  Roman  audience. 

While  the  action  was  always  ostensibly  in  some  Greek 
country,  it  was  impossible  by  even  the  most  conscientious 
efforts  really  to  set  the  audience  in  Athens  or  Ephesus.^ 
Plautus  recognizes  this  as  inevitable.  Adaptations  of 
foreign  comedies  never  attempt  too  painstakingly  to  main-  \ 
tain  the  consistency  of  their  allusions,  and  Plautus  indeed 
makes  so  little  attempt  to  keep  up  the  fiction  of  Greek  sur- 
roundings that  he  speaks  of  tresidri  at  Thebes  (Amph.  155) 
and  a  dictator  at  Athens  (Pseud.  415-6),  of  the  Porta 
Trigemina  and  the  Velabrum  (Capt.  90.  489)  in  Aetolia, 
and  makes  the  characters  talk  about  "living  like  those 
Greeks  "  {pergraecari — cf.  True  88,  Most.  22,  Bacc.  743,) 
utterly  oblivious  to  the  fact  that  the  persons  voicing  the  \ 
sentiments  are  supposed  to  be  Greeks  themselves.  I 

Many  eminent  modern  authorities,  support  the  opinion 
that  the  plays  of  Plautus  and  Terence  offer  much  material  j 
for  a  study  of  Roman  conditions.  Leo  in  his  Plmtinische 
Forschnngcn  states  that  "  specifisch  Romisches  und  indi- 
viduell  Plautinisches  leuchtet  fast  in  jeder  Scene  aus  der 
griechischen  Umgebung  heraus."  "  Legrande  echoes  the 
sentiment  in  the  words :  "  On  congoit  que,  s'il  etait  possi- 
ble, sans  alterer  les  grandes  lignes  du  modele,  d'aj outer  Qa 
et  la  quelque  detail  romain  ou  de  substituer  aux  details 
exotiques  des  equivalents  nationaux,  Plaute  se  soit  complu 
a  le  faire."  ^    Wallon  goes  even  further  and  concludes : 

Dans  toutes  les  pieces  ou  Taveu  meme  de  Timitation  ne  nous 
forqait  point  a  reconnaitre,  au  nioins  dans  le  cadre  general,  une 

1  Classical  Weekly,  loc.  cit.,  pp.  219-20. 

*  Leo,  op.  cit.,  p.  167. 

•  Legrande.  op.  cit.,  p.  50. 


ii^ 


i8 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[I8 


i9] 


INTRODUCTION 


19 


copie  de  la  Grece,  nous  Tavons  reserve  comme  specialement 
romain.  €e  n'est  pas  qu'il  soit  tou jours  le  peintre  des  moeurs 
romaines  de  son  epoque :  il  y  avait  encore  parmi  les  citoyens  une 
plus  forte  trace  de  ces  habitudes  antiques  dont  Caton,  contem- 
porain  de  Plaute,  laisse  entrevoir  quelque  chose  dans  son  Traite 
d'agriculture ;  mais  il  y  avait  aussi  dans  la  societe  une  veritable 
intrusion  des  moeurs  etrangeres.  EUes  s'etaient  etablies  au 
sommet  de  I'fitat;  et  de  la,  par  I'autorite  des  plus  grandes 
families,  par  I'influence  de  leurs  relations  et  la  force  de 
Texemple,  elles  menagaient  de  se  repandre  partout.  C'est  la 
ce  que  Plaute  attaque  sous  cette  forme  toute  descriptive,  avec 
non  moins  de  vigeur,  mais  avec  plus  d'habilete  que  le  poete 
Naevius.  S'il  parle,  comme  on  la  dit,  a  la  populace  qui 
remplit  le  fond  du  theatre,  il  lui  parle  bien  un  peu  des  sena- 
teurs  et  des  chevaliers  qui  occupent  les  premiers  rangs:  et 
ainsi,  tout  en  retracant  des  scenes  greques,  il  est  dans  la  verite 
de  son  temps  et  de  son  pays.^ 

In  addition  to  the  reasons  which  have  been  given,  careful 
study  of  sources  unquestionably  Roman  in  their  material 
^  verifies  the  belief  as  to  the  value  of  the  comedies  as  a  field 
'  of  information.  It  will  be  observed  that  in  nearly  every 
instance  the  material  drawn  from  the  comedies  is  parallelled 
and  substantiated  by  references  to  Cato,  Polybius,  Livy,  and 
similar  sources.  It  may  be  assumed,  therefore,  that  the 
majority  of  the  habits  and  allusions  contained  in  the  come- 
dies are  either  conclusively  Roman.  Roman  with  Greek  ante- 
cedents, or  Greek  customs  already  introducted  into  Rome 
and  familiar  to  the  Romans. 

At  first  glance  much  of  the  material  which  has  been  as- 

.  sembled,   may  seem   to  present  little  that   is  new.     The 

I  furnishings  of  the  dwelling,  the  customs  of  the  household, 

\  many  of  the  business  and  social  practises  are  so  similar  to 

those  which  have  been   treated   again   and  again   in  the 

*  Wallon,  op.  cit.,  vol.  ii,  p.  261,  et  seq. 


manuals  and  treatises  of  Roman  life,  that  the  present  work 
appears  in  many  cases  almost  a  repetition.  This  very  simi- 
larity, however,  constitutes  one  of  the  most  significant  re- 
sults of  the  study  because  the  material  has  been  gathered 
independently  from  sources  dealing  with  Republican  condi- 
tions. It  is,  therefore,  of  importance  in  showing  to  what 
a  large  extent  conditions  of  the  Imperial  period  had  already 
developed  and  crystallized  as  early  as  the  first  half  of  the 
second  century  B.  C. 

Attempt  has  been  made  throughout  the  work  to  keep  the 
different  parts  as  evenly  balanced  as  possible.  The  descrip- 
tion of  the  country  estate  may  appear  somewhat  brief,  but 
as  practically  all  the  material  was  necessarily  drawn  from 
Cato's  De  re  rnstica,  a  treatment  involving  a  wealth  of^ 
minute  details  would  be  little  more  than  a  rescript  of  the\ 
treatise.  It  seemed  preferable,  therefore,  to  limit  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  topic  to  more  general  statements,  giving  in 
the  footnotes  references  from  which  further  and  more  de- 
tailed information  might  be  gained. 

Frequently,  in  the  footnotes  to  the  sources,  all  of  the  re- 
ferences which  have  been  found  on  a  given  point  are  not 
mentioned.  In  every  case,  however,  enough  references  are 
cited  to  be  significant,  and  it  is  hoped,  conclusive.  In  view 
of  the  purpose  of  the  work  anything  further  appeared  un- 
necessary. 

Modern  works  have  been  read  extensively  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  following  study.  The  results  obtained,  however, 
were  largely  negative,  owing,  as  has  been  said,  to  the  lack 
of  attention  which  has  been  paid  to  this  particular  period. 
For  that  reason,  only  those  books  have  been  cited  in  the 
bibliography  which  are  specifically  quoted  or  from  which 
definite  material  has  been  drawn. 


y^ 


W 
\ 


CHAPTER  I 


Dwelling,  Town  and  Country 


(a)    TOWN-HOUSE  AND  FURNITURE 

It  is  difficult  to  give  a  description  of  the  Roman  dwelling 
of  this  period  which  would  be  generally  applicable.  Not 
only  did  the  house  var>^  according  to  the  means  of  the 
owner,  but  also  in  this  period  of  transition,  older  and  sim- 
pler forms  existed  side  by  side  with  more  recent  changes 
and  innovations/ 

*  The  treatment  of  the  house  in  this  chapter  is  based  on  the  literary 
sources,  with  the  hope  that  the  result  may  be  of  use  in  the  study  of 
archeological  remains.    Archeological  evidence  for  the  second  century 
B.  C.  is  available  at  Pompeii   (on  the  private  houses  at  Pompeii  cf. 
Mau-Kelsey,  Pompeii  (New  York,  London,  1899),  P-  239,  et  scq.,  Over- 
beck,  Pompeji  [Leipsic,  1856],  p.  179.  et  seq.)    Some  of  the  earlier  houses 
there  have  no  peristyle,  but  the  normal  plan  includes  both  atrium  and 
peristyle,  and   shows   the  complete   union  of  Greek   and   ItaUc   types. 
The  House  of  tlie  Surgeon,  which  antedates  200  B.  C,  is  wholly  Italic, 
with    a   roofed    court,   atrium,    surrounded   by   smaller    rooms    and    a 
garden  in  the  rear,  and  the  House  of  Sallust,  built  in  the  second  cen- 
tury B.  C,  resembled  this  in  its  original  plan.    The   House  of   the 
Faun  illustrates  the  type  of  dwelling  "  that  wealthy  men  of  cultivated 
tastes  Hving  in  the  third  or  second  century  B.  C.  built  and  adorned 
for  themselves"    (Mau-Kelsey,   op.   cit.,   p.  282).    The  plan   is   more 
complex,  and  the  apartments  are  in  four  groups:   (i)   a  large  Tuscan 
atrium  with  living  rooms  on  three  sides;  (2)  a  small  tetrastyle  atrium 
with   rooms   for  domestic  service  around  it;    (3)    a  peristyle;    (4)    a 
second  peristyle.    The  later  House  of  Pansa  also  shows  the  union— 
here  there  is  an  atrium  of  usual  type  with  alae  and  tablinum,  entered 
through   a  vestibule,   and  at  the   further  end   there   is   access   to  the 
peristyle  and  the  surrounding  rooms. 

It  is  natural  to  find  such  a  union  in  a  city  like  Pompeii  which  was 

20  [^ 


21] 


DWELLING,  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 


21 


Rough  stones  held  together  with  mortar  were  used  for 
the  foundation;  unbumt  bricks  for  the  upper  part,  and 
wood  for  the  inner  framework.  The  house  w^as  plastered 
with  a  mixture  of  lime  and  chaff,  and  a  compound  of  gravel 
and  lime  was  used  for  the  flooring  (pauhnentum),^  The 
roof  was  covered  with  tiles,  of  which  there  were  different 
kinds:  (i)  tegtdae,  flat  tiles,  (2)  imbrices,  hollow  tiles 
which  were  placed  over  the  joints  of  the  flat  tiles,  (3)  tegu- 
lac  conliciareSy  large  tiles.^ 

There  were  two  systems  of  roof  construction — the  closed 
roof  and  the  roof  with  the  opening.  When  the  roof  was 
closed,  the  form  was  called  tcstudo,  the  four  slopes  from 
the  sides  of  the  house  coming  together  like  a  pyramid.  The 
form  with  the  opening  in  the  center  over  the  atrium,  how- 
ever, was  the  one  generally  used.  The  flat  roof  served  as  a 
terrace,  so lariiim.  ^ 

Before  the  house  proper  was  a  fore-space  or  ticstibulum. 
This  was  used  as  a  waiting  room  for  those  who  wished  to 

subject  at  the  same  time  to  Greek  and  Roman  influence.  It  cannot 
be  accepted  as  positive,  however,  that  all  of  the  features  which  are 
found  in  the  second-century  remains  at  Pompeii,  were  also  current  in 
Rome  itself  at  that  time.  According  to  Overbeck,  op.  cit.,  p.  187, 
*'  die  dritte  Periode  der  romischen  hauslichen  Architektur  konnen  wir 
vom  letzten  Jahrhundert  der  Republik  an  datiren  .  .  .  dieser  Periode 
gehort  die  Erweiterung  des  romischen  Hauses  durch  vom  griechischen 
Hause  entlehnte  RiiumHchkeiten  mit  griechischen  Namen  ". 

*  For  materials  used  in  construction  cf.  Cato  R.  R.  XIV,  et  seq.; 
pauimentum:  XVIII.  7;  CXXVIII:  "  Jiabitationem  delutare.  terram 
quam  maxinie  cretosam  ucl  rubricosam,  eo  amtircam  iiifundito,  palcas 
indito." 

^Ibid.,  XIV.  4;  Plaut.  Mil.  Glor.  504:  '' imbricis  ct  tcgulas'*;  Rud. 
87;  Ter.  Eun.  588;  Caec.  Stat.  Synaristosae,  Ribb.  Frag.  Com.  p.  68: 
"  ex  tegulis  " ;  Liv.  XXXVI.  37-  2. 

» Plaut.  Mil.  Glor.  159,  I75,  287:  "  impluuium" ;  Ter.  Eun.  589: 
*'pluuiam'\  Cic.  Brut.  22.  87:  *' m  quadam  testudine"  (referring  to  a 
structure  belonging  to  iServius  Sulpicius  Galba,  praetor  151  B.  C,  consul 
144  B.  C).     Plaut.  Mil.  Glor.  340,  378:  "solarium." 


22 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[22 


see  the  master  of  the  house,  and  was  adorned  with  paintings, 
standards  and  spoils  taken  in  battle,  and  the  like.  In  front 
of  the  uestibuliim  there  might  be  a  walk,  ambulacrum.' 

There  is  a  question  whether  the  street  door,  ianiia 
maxima,''  opened  directly  into  the  atrium  or  into  a  hall, 
ostiimi.  The  words  of  Livy,  "  Vulgo  apertis  ianuis  in  pro- 
patulis  epulati  sunt-'  and  the  provision  of  the  sumptuary 
law  which  ordered  that  during  dinner  the  doors  should  be 
left  open  so  that  all  might  see  that  the  legal  restrictions 
were  observed,  suggest  that  the  door  opened  directly,  and 
this  view  is  upheld  by  Marquardt/  It  is  possible,  however, 
that  a  short  hall  led  from  the  atrium  to  the  ianua'.  ( i )  while 
ostium  is  frequently  used  synonymously  with  ianua  and 
fores  to  mean  simply  the  entrance  to  the  house,  Plautus  by 
the  expression  ante  ostium  et  ianuam  suggests  that  ostium 
strictly  indicated  a  small  space  behind  the  ianua: '  (-)  there 
was  necessarily  a  place  for  the  ianitor,  and  frequently  for  a 
watch-dog  as  well,  immediately  in  back  of  the  door,  and  it 
is  unlikely  that  these  would  be  in  the  atrium.'  The  possi- 
bility that  the  passage  was  very  short  might  explain  the 
passage  from  Livy. 

'Plaut.  3/0^^817:  '' uiden  nesfibulum  ante  aedis  hoc  ct  ambulacrum'*; 
Aul  Gell.  XVI.  5.  3:  ''locum  ante  ianuam  domus  uacuum";  Liv. 
XXXVIII.  43.  11:  ''Ambraciam  captam  signaquc.  quae  ablata  critnin- 
abantur,  et  cetera  spolia  eius  urbis  ante  currum  laturus  et  fixurus  m 
postibus  suis". 

'Cato  R.  R.  XIV.  2:  ''ianuam  maximam:' 

»Liv.  XXV.   12.  15:  Macrob.  Sat.  III.  17.  i:  "  "^  patentibus  ianuis 
pransitaretur  et  cenitaretur,  sic  oculis  ciuium   testibus  factis  luxuriae 
modus  iieret.  prima  autem   omnium   de  cenis  lex  ad  populum    Orclua 
peruenitr     Marquardt,   Vie  privee  des  Romains    (Paris,   1892-3),   vol.. 
i,  p.  267. 

*Plaut.  Pseud.  604,  Stick.  449-50,  Cist.  669  cf.  Pers.  758;  Overbeck, 
op.  cit.,  p.  189. 

^Plaut.  Asin.  390:  "ianitorem";  Cas.  462:  "  atriensem  .  .  .  sub 
ianua";  Most.  854:  "  canem  istanc  a  foribus  abducant  face". 


23] 


DWELLING,  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 


^3 


The  central  point  of  the  house  was  the  atrium,  which  was 
lighted  from  above,  through  the  opening  in  the  roof.  Be- 
neath this  opening  there  was  a  corresponding  opening  in  the 
floor.  The  term  impluuium  was  applied  to  either  opening. 
In  Terence  the  opening  in  the  roof  is  also  designated  by  the 
term  pluuia.^  In  the  atrium  in  the  simpler  form  of  dwel- 
ling was  the  Lar  Familiaris  and  the  focus.''  In  the  more 
elaborate  houses  the  atrium  had  already  begun  to  be  used 
instead  of  the  uestibulum  as  a  place  of  waiting  for  those 
who  had  business  with  the  master  of  the  house. ^ 

In  the  arrangement  of  the  house  various  changes  were 
taking  place  with  the  idea  of  increasing  the  number  of 
rooms  and  of  distributing  them  better.  Around  the  atrium 
were  chambers  for  different  purposes,  such  as  sleeping- 
rooms  and  private  rooms  for  members  of  the  family  and 
store-rooms  for  wine  and  provisions.  The  conclauia  or 
family  rooms  were  closed  with  keys  and  bolts;  the  store- 
rooms with  seals.*  The  house  was  further  increased  by 
additions  in  the  rear,  posticae  aedes,  and  the  cooking  hearth 
was  removed  from  the  atrium  to  a  special  room  called 
culina.    There  was  also  a  latrina,  probably  near  the  kitchen 

iPlaut.  Amph.  1108,  Mil.  Glor.  159,  I75.  287:  impluuium  used  to  refer 
to  opening  in  roof:  Liv.  XLIII.  13.  6:  used  to  refer  to  opening  in 
floor;  Ter.  Eun.  580:  "  pluuiam." 

2Cato  R.  R.  CXLIII.  2;  Plant.  Aul.  386. 

2  Plant.  Aul.  517-9:  "  cedunt,  petunt  !  irceeni,  quom  slant  thylacisfae 
in  atriis  \  textores  limbularii,  arcularii.'" 

*Cato  brat,  reliq.  LVII.,  ed.  Jord.  p.  64:  ''in  cubiculum  subrectitauit 
e  conuiuio'';  Plaut.  Most.  843:  "conclauia'';  Cas.  881:  "in  conclaue"; 
Ter.  Heaut.  902,  Eun.  583;  Plut.  Cat.  maj.  24.  Cato  R.  R.  XIV.  2: 
"cellas  familiae,  carnaria" ;  Plaut.  Mil.  Glor.  857:  "  ceUa  uinaria"\ 
Capt.  914:  "cum  carni  carnarium  ":  Cure.  324;  Cato  Mem.  Diet.  72,  ed. 
Jord.  p.  no:  " cellam  penariam".  Plaut.  Cas.  144:  "obsignate  cellos, 
referte  anulum  ad  me";  Capt.  918.  Ter.  Eun.  603:  " pessulum  ostio 
obdo";  Don.  ad  Ter.  Eun.  III.  5-  35- 


24 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[24 


25] 


DWELLING,  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 


25 


SO  that  a  common  drain  might  serve  for  both.'  In  some 
cases  there  was  an  entirely  separate  structure  in  the  rear 
used  by  the  master  as  a  study  when  he  wished  to  be  undis- 
turbed."    The  posticae  a^dcs  also  included  the  garden.^ 

The  space  under  the  roof  was  also  divided  into  different 
rooms,  which  were  reached  by  ladders.  These  rooms  wxre 
lighted  by  luminaria  and  opened  to  the  atrium.  They  were 
used  for  storing  wine,  oil,  and  especially  wood.'* 

By  the  time  of  Cicero  the  two-part  Greek  house  had  been 
introduced.  This  innovation  changed  the  rear  of  the  house 
into  the  gynaecciim  or  family  dwelling,  which  was  provided 
with  an  atrium  and  contained  sleeping-rooms,  the  balneum, 
the  apodyterium  or  dressing-room,  and  the  palaestra  or 
room  for  athletic  exercises.  A  colonnade  {pcristylum)  was 
also  added.  Passages  in  Plautus  and  Terence  refer  to  vari- 
ous features  of  such  a  dwelling,  but  as  these  passages  may 
be  taken  substantially  from  the  Greek  originals,  they  do  not 
indicate  positively  that  the  form  was  already  current  in 
Rome.^ 

*Liv.  XXIII.  8.  8:  '' hortus  erat  posticis  acdium  partibus";  Plaut. 
Stick.  450:  "  posticam  partem  Jiwgis  utnntur  acdium";  Most.  931. 
Ibid.,  1-2,  "  exi  e  culina ..  .inter  patinas";  Cas.  764.  Plaut.  Cure.  580: 
**  ancillam  quae  latrinam  lauat." 

^  Cic.  Brut.  22.  87:  '' omnibus  exclusis,  commcntatum  in  quadam  tes- 
tudine  cum  sends  literatis  fuisse . . .  exisse  in  acdis"  cf.  Plaut.  Trin. 
194:  "'  posticulum  hoc  recepit  quotn  aedis  uendidit." 

^Liv.  XXIII.  8.  8;  Plaut.  Stick.  4503,  614,  Epid.  660,  Cas.  613;  Ter. 
Ad.  908-9. 

*Cato  R.  R.  LXIV.  i,  LV,  XIV.  2;  Plaut.  Mil.  Glor.  824:  '' domisit 
nardini  amphoram  cellarius.'^ 

'^Cic.  ad  Aft.  II.  iii.  4:  '' balincum  calHeri" ;  ad  Fam.  XIV.  20;  ad 
Qu.  fr.  III.  i.  I.  2:  "apodyterium";  in  Vcrr.  V.  72.  185:  ''in  priuata 
aliqua  palaestra".  Plaut.  Most  755-6:  "  gynaeccum  acdiUcare  uolt  in 
suis  I  et  balineas  et  ambulacrum  et  porticum";  Ter.  Phorm.  862: 
''  gynaeceum".  Rider,  Greek  House  (Cambridge,  1916),  p.  264,  con- 
cludes that  the  two-court  type  of  house  seems  to  have  been  adopted  by 
the  Greeks  and  the  Romans  about  the  same  time,  vis:  2nd  Cent.  B.  C. 


In  some  cases  the  dwelling  was  enlarged  by  the  addition 
of  a  second  story.  This  upper  floor  was  reached  by  stairs 
from  the  street  but  might  also  be  reached  from  the  interior. 
The  second  story  led  to  the  transference  of  the  dining-room 
from  the  atrium  to  a  room  {cenaculum)  in  the  upper  story, 
with  the  result  that  the  whole  upper  stor}'  was  called  ccnaai- 
lum.'-  As  early  as  218  B.  C.  there  is  reference  to  a  building 
three  stories  in  height,^  and  dwellings  continued  to  increase 
in  size  and  become  more  elaborate  until  in  the  following 
century  M.  Aemilius  Lepidus  Porcina,  for  example,  had  in 
Rome  a  rent  of  6000  HS  (c.  $300)  and  in  the  territory  of 
Alsium  a  villa  several  stories  high.^  The  fact  that  he  was 
fined  for  this  by  the  censors  suggests  that  private  houses 
had  attained  such  a  height  that  they  had  to  be  restrained  by 
law.  The  restrictions  were  probably  imposed  in  an  attempt 
to  check  the  growing  luxury  of  the  time  and  not  with  the 
idea  of  diminishing  the  danger  from  fire. 

The  door  was  usually  of  wood,  with  two  posts,  a  sill 
(limcn  or  liineninf crum)  ,^nd  a  lintel  (Umcn  supcnim).  The 
door  itself  was  double  with  two  wings  {fores)  which  turned 
on  pivots  (eardines) .  Each  of  the  wings  was  fixed  by  bolts, 
fastened  probably  one  in  the  sill  and  the  other  in  the  lintel. 
The  door  was  also  provided  with  a  lock  for  which  there 
were  different  kinds  of  keys.*    During  the  day  the  door  was 

*  Plaut.  Amplt.  863:  "in  superiore .  .cenaculo" ;  Liv.  XXXIX.  14.  2: 
"  cenaculum  super  acdes  datum  est  scalis  ferentibus  in  publicum  ob- 
seratis,  aditu  in  aedes  uerso." 

2  Liv.  XXT.  62.  3:  The  fanciful  story  given  here  of  the  ox  which 
jumped  from  the  third  story  of  the  forum  boarium  may  have  been 
made  up  at  a  later  date  and  pushed  back  into  the  past.  It  cannot  be 
taken  as  positive  proof  that  buildings  of  that  height  existed  at  the  time. 

*Vell.  Pat.  II.  10:  ''quod  sex  milibus  aedes  conduxisset".  Val. 
Max.  VIII.  I.  13.  damn.  7:  ''  accusatum  eriminc  nimis  sublime  extructae 
uillac  in  alsiensi  agro  graui  multa  aitecit." 

^Plin.   H.   N.   XXXIV.   3    (7).    13:    '' Camillo   inter   crimina   obiecit 


I' 

1  u 

I  r 


/ 


26 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[26 


27] 


DWELLING,  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 


27 


rarely  closed  with  the  bolts.  A  porter,  quite  often  with  a 
dog,  was  stationed  at  the  entrance,  and  people  wishing  to 
enter,  knocked  to  announce  themselves.^ 

The  house  w^as  largely  dependent  upon  the  opening  in  the 
roof  for  light,  but  there  were  also  windows  of  various  sizes. 
The  larger  w^indows  of  the  house  were  fenestrae  clatrata*- — 
covered  with  grills.  The  smaller  openings  were  called 
luminaria.'  For  artificial  lighting  there  were  wax  candles 
(cerei),  oil  lamps  with  linen  wicks  {luccrnae)y  and  lanterns 
(lantcrna-e) .  Glass  was  not  used  in  the  lanterns,  but  some 
semi-transparent  material,  such  as  horn.'^ 

There  was  no  adequate  water  supply.  The  rain  water 
which  was  received  through  the  opening  in  the  roof  was 
collected  in  an  underground  cistern  (piiteits)*  and  when 
this  was  insufficient  for  the  needs  of  the  household,  water 
had  to  be  carried  from  the  public  tanks.  Sometimes  these 
public  tanks  were  tapped  by  the  individual  house-owner, 

Spurius  Caruiliits  quaestor,  ost'ui  quod  aerata  hoberet  in  domo  ".  Plaut. 
Most.  818-9:  ''age  specta  postis,  quoiusmodi,  \  quanta  Urmitale  facti 
et  quanta  crassifudine" ;  Liv.  XXXVIII.  43.  11.  Plaut.  Most.  829:  "m 
foribus";  Pers.  570-1:  Ter.  Heaut.  27S.  Plaut.  Cure.  158:  "'sonitum 
prohibe  forium  et  crepituni  eardinum  ";  Aiil.  103-4:  ''occlude  sis  \  fores 
ambobus  pessulis";  Cist.  649:  "  occludite  aedis  pessulis,  repagulis"; 
Cure.  153;  Ter.  Heaut.  278,  Enu.  603;  cf.  Plaut.  Pers.  572:  '' ferream 
seram  atque  anellum.''  Most.  404:  "  clauem  Lacojiicain" :  ibid.,  425: 
"  clauim  cedo  atque  abi  [hine]intro  atque  occlude  ostium." 

*  Plaut.  Stick.  308:  ''quid  hoc?  occlusam  ianuam  uideo.  ibo  et  pultabo 
fores";  Most.  444-5-  ''quid  hoe/  oeclusa  ianua  est  interdius.  pultabo": 
Asin.  382.  Asin.  390:  "  ianitorem";  Cas.  462,  Cure.  76,  Most.  854: 
"  canem  istanc  a  foribus  abducant  face." 

*  Plaut.  Mil.  Glor.  379:  '' fenstra  clatrata" \  Cato  R.  R.  XIV.  2: 
'*  fenestras,  elatros  in  fenestras  maioris  bipedales  luminaria." 

'Plaut.  Cure.  9:  "eereum".  Caec.  Stat.  Meretrix  II  (i),  Ribb.  Frag. 
Com.  p.  54:  "candelabrum  ligneum  ardentein".  Plaut.  Bace.  446: 
"  lueerna  uncto  expretus  linteo";  Most.  487;  Cato  R.  R.  XIII.  i.  Plaut. 
Amph.  341:  "qui  Voleanum  in  eornu  eonelusum  geris";  Aul.  566. 

*  Plaut.  Most.  380,  769.  Mil.  Glor.  551-2. 


notwithstanding  the  fact  that  to  draw  off  the  water-supply 
in  this  way  constituted  a  violation  of  the  law.^ 

The  interior  decorations,  the  furniture,  and  the  house- 
hold utensils  of  this  period  are  especially  significant  of  the 
changing  conditions  of  life  and  the  growing  tendency  to 
luxury.  Houses  were  beautified  with  citrus  wood  and  ivory ; 
the  use  of  Numidian  marble  for  floorings  was  known; 
statues  of  the  gods  were  introduced  merely  as  objects  of  art, 
until  the  conservative  Cato,  who  maintained  with  pride 
"  liillas  suas  incxcultas  et  rudes  ne  tectorio  quidem  praelitas 
fidsscr  stood  aghast. - 

» Liv.  XXXIX.  44.  4. 

''Cato  Oral,  reliq.  XXXVI.  i,  ed.  Jord.  p.  55:  "  die  ere  possum,  quibus 
uillac  atque  cedes  aediiieatae  atque  expolitae  maximo  opere  citro  atque 
ebore  atque  pauimentis  Poenicis  sient";  ibid.,  LXXI,  p.  69:  "  miror 
audere  atque  religionem  non  tenere,  statuas  deorum,  exempla  earum 
facierum,  signa  domi  pro  supellectile  statuere";  Ineert.  Orat.  reliq.  X, 
ed.  Jord.  p.  72-3:  " M.  Cato . . . publicis  iam  priuatisque  opulentis  rebus 
uillas  suas  inexeultas  et  rudes  ne  tectorio  quidem  praelitas  fuisse  dicit 
,..Neque,inquit,  mihi  aedificatio  neque  uasum  neque  uestimcntum  ullum 
est  manupretiosum,  neque  pretiosus  seruus,  neque  ancilla." 

The  use  of  marble  at  Rome  in  the  second  century  B.  C.  is  questioned. 
However  the  quotation  from  Cato  (cf.  Festus  s.  v.  pauimenta  Poenica, 
ed.  Lindsay,  p.  282:  "pauimenta  Poenica  marmore  Numidico  constrata 
signiiieat  Cato")  and  the  statement  of  Velleius  Paterculus  I.  n.  5^: 
"Hie  idem  [Metellus],  primus  omnium,  Romae  acdem  ex  marmore" 
appear  to  establish  its  introduction  in  this  period.  Moreover  Livy  tells 
us  (XLII.  3.  I,  et  seq.)  that  in  173  B.  C,  Q.  Fulvius  Flaccus,  when  he 
was  building  a  temple  to  Fortuna  at  Rome,  imported  marble  tiles 
(tegulae  marmorcae)  to  enhance  the  magnificence  of  the  structure.  As 
these  tiles  had  been  taken  from  a  temple  of  Juno  in  Bruttmm,  the  act 
was  considered  a  sacrilege  and  the  Senate  ordered  the  marble  to  be 
returned.  The  intention  of  Flaccus  suggests  that  the  employment  of 
marble  was  already  known   at  Rome. 

On  the  other  hand  Pliny  (H.  N.  XXXVI.  3(3)7)  states  that  L. 
Crassus  c.  100  B.  C.  was  the  first  to  have  pillars  of  foreign  marble. 
He  also  states  {H.  N.  XXXVI.  6(7-8).48-5o)  that  Mamurra  a  prefect 
of  engineers  of  Caesar  in  Gaul  was  the  first  to  cover  the  whole  of  the 
walls  of  his  house  with  marble,  and  that  M.  Lepidus,  consul  in  78 
B   C    was  the  first  to  have  the  lintels  of  his  house  made  of  Numidian 


28  SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME  [28 

The  principal   articles  of   furniture  were  couches  and 

marble.  "This",  says  Pliny,  "is  the  earliest  instance  I  find  of  the 
introduction  of  Numidian  marble  ".  The  statement  of  Pliny,  however, 
need  hardly  be  considered  as  nullif}ang  the  words  of  Cato,  who  was 
in  a  better  position  to  know. 

Platner,  Topography  and  Monuments  of  Ancient  Rome  (Boston, 
191 1 ),  p.  25,  doubtless  with  these  statements  of  Pliny  in  mind,  entirely 
ignores  the  earlier  references  to  the  employment  of  marble,  and  declares 
that  "  the  use  of  marble,  both  native  and  foreign,  began  in  Rome  in 
the  first  decade  of  the  first  century  B.  C."  Pullen  in  his  Handbook  of 
Ancient  Roman  Marbles  (London,  1894),  does  not  discuss  the  question, 
Corsi,  Delia  Pietrc  Antiche  (Rome,  1845),  p.  12,  et  seq.,  in  dealing  with 
the  earHest  importations  of  marble  to  Rome,  says  that  its  use  was  not 
unknown  before  the  first  century  B.  C,  although  "  anche  dopo  la  dis- 
truzione  di  Cartagine  che  segui  nell'  anno  608  fu  costume  de'  piu  nobili 
personaggi  romani  il  valersi  delle  sole  pietre  del  Lazio  "  (on  this  point 
compare  the  fragment  of  Cato  with  the  similar  attitude  expressed  by 
Seneca,  Ep.  LXXXVI).  Jordan,  Topographic  der  Stadt  Rom,  (Berlin, 
1871-1907),  vol.  i,  sec.  i,  p.  16,  et  seq.,  is  also  less  sweeping  than  Platner. 
Although  he  considers  that  the  general  use  of  marble  is  of  later  date, 
he  interprets  the  passage  of  Velleius  to  indicate  "  ein  zum  Staunen 
Roms  mit  solchen  geraubten  Marmorstiicken  ausgezierter  Tempel ". 
Until  the  time  of  Augustus,  according  to  Jordan,  marble  for  building 
purposes  was  "  ein  fremdes,  aus  dem  hellenischen  Osten  und  Afrika 
bezogenes  -Material,  in  Rom  schwcrlich  bekannt  vor  den  punischen 
Kriegen  ".  In  the  same  connection  he  remarks :  "  Die  bekannten  Xotizen 
uber  die  Verwendung  des  fremden  Marmors  . . .  vor  Augustus  treten, 
was  gewtjhnlich  iibersehen  wird,  lediglich  in  Verbindung  mit  der 
Gescliichte  des  Luxus,  namentlich  der  Privathiiuser,  auf ...  So  auch 
Catos  Klage  ubcr  die  pauimenta  Poenica  ".  He  thus  accepts  the  refer- 
ence of  Cato  to  the  use  of  marble  in  extremely  luxurious  private  dwell- 
ings of  the  second  century  B.  C 

It  is  evident  of  course  that  marble  was  used  sparingly  in  this 
early  period.  There  is  no  reason  for  questioning  the  statement  of 
Pliny  as  to  the  introduction  of  marble  columns.  But  at  the  same 
time  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  with  the  marked  increase  in 
luxury  in  all  phases  of  life  in  the  early  part  of  the  second  century 
B.  C,  there  was  also  the  beginning  of  the  use  of  marble,  which  reached 
a  further  development  in  the  following  century.  Marquardt,  op.  cit., 
vol.  ii,  pp.  266-7,  takes  much  this  point  of  view  when  he  says :  **  Encore 
que  Rome  ait  oppose  a  I'invasion  de  ces  somptuosites  une  longue  et 
vigoureuse  resistance,  le  vieux  Caton  deja  parle  de  carrelages  en 
mosaique  de  marbre  numide". 


29] 


DWELLING,  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 


29 


chairs,  tables,  and  chests  of  various  sizes.  There  were  also 
mirrors,  disc-shaped,  and  made  of  polished  metal. ^  The 
couches  (Iccti)  which  served  as  beds  or  sofas,  varied  ac- 
cording to  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  intended  and 
according  to  the  means  and  taste  of  the  owner.  The  frame- 
work was  of  wood,  and  in  some,  leather  thongs  were 
stretched  across  the  frame,  on  which  the  mattress,  cushions, 
and  coverings  were  laid.  In  187  B.  C.  couches  with  bronze 
feet  (lecti  aerati)  wxre  introduced,  and  Plautus  speaks  of 
lecti  eburati  and  lecti  anrati.  The  couches  used  for  persons 
reclining  at  meals  were  referred  to  as  triclinia  and  accom- 
modated three  persons." 

P^or  seating  purposes  there  were  also  various  kinds  of 
chairs:  (i)  the  sella,  (2)  the  solium,  a  high  chair  with  a 
back,  (3)  the  siibsellium,  a  low  bench.  These  chairs  were 
not  upholstered  but  were  provided  with  cushions  (puhiini).^ 
Chests  were  of  different  sizes  ranging  from  the  large 
armarium  to  the  small  clstella  or  casket,  and  were  used  not 
only  to  hold  garments  but  also  different  articles  of  house- 
hold use.     Chests  whose  contents  were  especially  valuable 

1  Plant.  Epid.  382-3;  Ter.  Ad.  415;  Plaut.  Most.  268:  "  «/  speculum 
tenuisti,  metuo  fie  olant  argentum  nianus". 

2  Ter.  Ad.  585:  '' lectulos  in  sole  ilignis  pedibus'';  Cato  R.  R.  X.  5: 
"  lectos  loris  subtentos" ;  Ter.  Meant.  125:  '' lectos  sternere"'  cf.  Plaut. 
Stick.  357.  Liv.  XXXIX.  6.  7  (referring  to  the  triumph  of  Cn.  ManHus 
in  187  B.  C.)  :  "  luxuriae  peregrinae  origo  ab  exercitu  Asiatico  inuecta 
in  urbe  est:  ii  pritnum  lectos  aeratos,  ucstem  stragulam  pretiosam, 
plagulas  et  alia  textilia,  et  quae  turn  magniUcae  supellectilis  habebantur, 
monopodia  et  abacas  Romam  aduexerunt";  cf.  Plaut.  Stick.  377:  *'  lectos 
eburatos,  auratos";  Plin.  H.  N.  XXXIV.  3  (8). 14:  "«aw  triclinia  aerata 
abacosque  et  monopodia  Cn.  Manlium . . .  primum  inuexisse*\  The 
term  triclinium  was  also  applied  to  the  room  used  as  a  dining-room, 
cf.  Naevius  Tarentilla  IV  (10),  Ribb.  Frag.  Com.  p.  20:  '' utrubi  ccna- 
turi  estis,  hicine  an  in  triclinia'? " 

^Sellae:  Cato  R.  R.  X.  5,  Plaut.  Cure.  311.  ^a^^-  43^;  -f^^'^'  Cato 
lac.  cit.;  subsellium :  Plaut.  Stich.  93,  703;  puluinus:  ibid.  941  Cato 
R.  R.  X.  5. 


30 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[30 


31] 


DWELLING,  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 


31 


were  lucked  or  sealed/  Tables  {mensae)  were  used  at 
meals  principally  to  hold  the  various  dishes.  In  187  B.  C. 
abaci,  tables  of  precious  metal  for  the  display  of  plate,  and 
monopodia^  stands  or  tables  with  one  foot,  were  introduced.- 
The  floors  and  walls  of  the  house  were  kept  clean  with 
brushes  of  twigs  or  reeds,  and  there  was  a  special  vessel 
{nassiterna)  with  which  water  was  sprinkled  in  sweeping. •■ 
Tables  were  wiped  w4th  a  sponge  {peniculus) .* 

Under  the  general  term  uasa  w^as  grouped  an  extensive 
range  of  household  utensils:  (i)  the  large  jars  for  storing 
wine,  oil,  and  provisions :  amphora,  cadiis,  dolium,  seria. 
the  last  two  being  frequently  mentioned  together ;  ^  ( 2 )  the 
smaller  vessels  in  which  liquids  were  carried :  urna,  sitclla, 

'  Titinius  Ex  Inccrtis  Fabulis,  Ribb.  Frag.  Com.  p.  158:  *' quid  l^uibes 
nisi  unam  arcam  sine  claui?"  Plaut.  Epid.  308-9:  *' ex  occluso  atque 
obsignato  armario  |  decutio  argenti  tantum";  True.  55:  " artnariola 
Graeca";  Amph.  773-4:  "in  Jiac  cistellula  \  tuo  signo  obsignata" \  Rnd. 
1 109:  *'  cistellam." 

-  Plaut.  Men.  210-2 : 

''  glandionidam  suillam,  laridum  pernonldayn, 
aut  sincipitamenta  porcina  aut  aliquid  ad  cum  modum. 
madida  quae  mi  adposita  in  mensam  miluinam  suggcrant.*' 
cf.  Pers.  354:  **  mensa  inauis  nunc  si  apponatur  niihi":  ibid.  769:  "date 
aquam  manibus,  apponitc  mensam.''*     Liv.  loc.  cit.,  Plin.  loc.  cit. 

*  Plaut.  SticJi.  347,  et  scq. : 

'^  munditias  uolo  fieri,  ecferte  hue  scopas  simulqiie  harnndinem, 

lit  operam  omnem  araneorum  pcrdam  et  texturam  inprobem 

dei^iamque  eorum  omnis  telas." 

ibid.  352-4:  '*  nassiternam  cum  aqua  .  .  .  consperge" ;  Titinius  Setina 

XVII    (12),  Ribb.  Frag.   Com.  p.   151:   "  uerrite  mi  acdis,  spargite"; 

Cato  Orat.  reliq.  L,  ed.  Jord.  p.  62:  "  nassiternas*\ 

*  Plaut.  Men.  77-S:  "  nomen  fecit  Peniculo  mihi  \  idea  quia  mensam 
quando  edo  detergeo*' ;  Ter.  Eun.  777. 

^  Plaut.  Poen.  863:  " uasa  salua";  Aid.  95-6.  .imphora:  Plaut.  Mil 
Glor.  824,  Cas.  121-2;  Cato  R.  R.  CXIII.  2.  Cadus:  Plaut.  Mil.  Glor.  850, 
Amph.  429.  Dolium  :  Cato  R.  i?.  X.  4:  "  dolia  quo  uinacios  condat,  amur- 
caria,  uinaria,  frumentaria".  Seria:  Plaut.  Capt.  917;  Ter.  Heaut.  460: 
''dolia  omnia,  omnis  scrias";  Liv.  XXIV.  10.  8:  "' scrias  doliaquc.*' 


urceus.  Cato  distinguishes  between  urcci  Hctiles  and  urcci 
urnaleSj  the  latter  being  apparently  larger  and  not  of  earthen- 
ware.^ (3)  The  vessels  used  in  drinking:  crater  (mixing- 
bowl),  cyathns  (a  measure  or  ladle),  tridla  (a  small  ladle  or 
scoop)  made  of  w^ood  or  bronze,  different  kinds  of  drinking 
cups  as  the  patera,  scaphium,  gaulus,  calex  (made  of  earthen- 
ware), batioca,  scyphus,  canthariis,  simis.-  (4)  The  eating- 
ware:  lanx  (a  round  platter  for  roast  meats),  patitiac 
(platters  used  for  serving  meats,  et  cetera,  and  which  could 
be  covered),  catinus  (an  earthenware  bowl),  lahcUum  (a 
small  basin). ^  (5)  The  kitchen-ware:  aulac  (jars  used  for 
cooking,  sometimes  of  bronze,  sometimes  of  earthenware), 
hirnca  ( used  both  as  a  kind  of  drinking  vessel  and  for  bak- 
ing cakes),  trua  (a  stirring-spoon  or  skimmer),  patinac  (em- 
ployed as  a  general  term  to  refer  to  cooking  utensils).*    The 

^Urna:  Plaut.  Cas.  76:  "in  urnam  mulsi."  Siiella:  Plaut.  Cas.  342; 
Liv.  XXV.  3.  16.  Urceus:  Cato  R.  R.  XJII.  3. 

*  Crater:  Ennius  Ann.  Lib.  Inc.  CXLV.  624,  ed.  Vahl.  p.  116:  "  crateris 
ex  auratis  hauserunt".  Cyathus:  Plaut.  Rud.  1319,  Stich.  706.  Trulla: 
Cato  R.  R.  XIII.  2:  "  truUas  ahcneas";  ibid.,  XIII.  3:  "  trullas  ligneas". 
Patera:  Plaut.  Amph.  766:  "  aurea  patera".  Scaphium:  Stich.  693. 
Gaulus:  Rud.  1319.  Calcx :  Capt.  916:  ''aulas  valicesque  omncs  con- 
f regit".  Batioca:  Stich.  694.  Scyphus:  Asin.  444.  Cantharus:  Most.  347» 
Stich.  (x)3.  Sinus:  Rud.  1319. 

^Lanx:  Plaut.  Cure.  323-4: 

"'  pernam,  abdomen,  sumen  suis,  glandium  -  ain  tu  omnia  haccJ 

in  carnario  fortasse  dicis.  immo  in  lancibus." 

Patinae:  Pseud.  840-1:  "  ubi  omnes  patinac  fcruont,  omnis  aperio  \  is 

odos  ...in  caelum  uolat";  Mil.  Glor.  759:  "  tolle  hanc  patinam:  remouc 

pernam."  Catinus:  Cato  R.  R.  LXXXIV. Lab e Hum:  ibid.,  LXXXV III.  2. 

*Aulae:  ibid.,  LXXXI :  aulam  aheneam;  Plaut.  Capt.  846-7:  '' astitui 
aulas,  patinas  elui  \...cpulas  foucri  foculis  feruentibus."  Hirnea: 
Amph,  429,  431-2;  Cato  R.  R.  LXXXI:  '' irneam  nctilem:'  Trua: 
Titinius  Setina  XV  (i),  Ribb.  Frag.  Com.  p.  151.  Patinac:  Plaut. 
Most.  1-2: 

"  Exi  e  culina  sis  foras,  mastigia, 
qui  mi  inter  patinas  c.vhibcs  argutias." 


I 


ki 


r 


32 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[32 


DWELLING,  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 


household  equipment  also  included  such  objects  of  domestic 
use  as  knives,  hatchets  and  cleavers,  baskets,  the  mortar  and 
pestle  to  grind  the  tlour  for  baking,  and  the  like.^  The  ap- 
parent emphasis  placed  upon  drinking  vessels  is  largely  due 
to  the  character  of  the  sources  for  the  period,  but  it  may  be 
assumed  that  the  entire  household  equipment  was  quite 
complete. 

The  pottery  which  was  in  most  general  use  at  Rome  was 
Samian  ware.  Vases  w^ere  also  made  at  Mutina.  The  term 
"  Samian  "  came  to  be  applied  to  any  kind  of  earthenware, 
although  Samian  ware  itself  was  thin  and  broke  easily."  In 
this  period  earthenware  at  Rome  had  been  superseded  to  a 
large  extent  by  silver.  Cato  complained  that  already  the 
people  scoffed  at  the  earthen  molds  which  served  as  orna- 
ments to  the  temples,  and  its  use  for  domestic  purposes  was 
regarded  as  an  evidence  of  poverty  or  covetousness.  In  the 
Captizi  of  Plautus,  for  example,  it  is  advanced  against  a 
man  as  the  most  clinching  proof  of  his  avarice :  "  He's  the 
stingiest  person  ever — why,  just  to  give  you  some  idea, 
when  he's  sacrificing  to  his  own  Genius,  for  w^hatever 
vessels  are  needed  in  the  ritual,  he  uses  Samian  ware  for 
fear  the  Genius  himself  wall  steal  them — you  can  guess  from 
that  how  far  he  trusts  anyone  else!"  Q.  Aelius  Tubero 
Catus,  the  son-in-law  of  Aemilius  Paulus,  in  fact,  seemed 

^  Plaut.  Aul  95-6: 

*'£ultrum,  sccurim,  pistillum,  mortarium, 
quae  utenda  uasa  semper  uicini  rogant** 
Sticlu  2i8g:  '' sportulamque  et  fiamulum  piscarium." 

'  Liv.  XLI.  18.  4:  ''uasa  onniis  generis,  usui  magis  quam  ornamevto." 
Plaut.  Bacc.  202:  '' scis  tu  ut  confringi  uas  cito  Samium  solet*';  Men. 
178:  ''  placid c  pulta.  metuis,  credo,  nc  fores  Samiae  sient";  cf.  Walters, 
History  of  Ancient  Pottery  (New  York,  1905),  vol.  ii,  p.  474,  et  seq. 
The  find  of  lamps  described  by  Walters,  op.  cit.,  chap,  xx,  gives  evidence 
of  a  pottery  on  the  Esquiline  in  the  third  and  second  centuries  B.  C, 
and  this  is  supported  by  Festus,  s.  v.  salinum,  ed.  Lindsay,  p.  468. 


33] 

almost  ''  fabidosus  '\  because  even  in  his  consulship  he  ate 
from  earthenware  and  refused  all  silverware  except  two 
vases  which  he  had  received  after  the  battle  of  Pydna  in 
recognition  of  his  bravery/ 

The  increase  in  the  amount  of  silverware  owned  by  pri- 
vate individuals  w^as  very  marked  and  rapid.     This  fact  is 
best  illustrated  by  concrete  instances  of  the  years  immediately 
preceding  and  subsequent  to  the  period  under  discussion. 
In  the  preceding  century  P.  Cornelius  Ruf  inus  had  been  re- 
moved from  the  Senate  because  he  had  at  his  home  ten 
pounds  of  silverware,-'  and  the  Carthaginian  envoys  to  Rome 
had  remarked  that  at  the  banquets  they  attended  in  various 
homes  the  same  set  of  silver  always  appeared,^  a  fact  which 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  Romans  of  the  time  regarded 
the  use  of  such  elaborate  ware  more  as  a  fitting  concomitant 
of  the  official  dignity  of  the  State  than  as  an  opportunity  for 
individual    display.      In   contrast   to   this    attitude    Scipio 
Aemilianus  w^as  the  owner  of  thirty-two  pounds  of  silver, 
and  Q.  Fabius  Maximus  Allobrogicus  w^as  the  first  of  the 
Romans  to  have  one  thousand  pounds.*    With  the  increase 
in  quantity  a  high  value  was  placed  upon  artistic  workman- 
ship: C.  Gracchus  paid  as  high  as  5000  HS  a  pound  for 
some  of  his  silverware,  and  Crassus  the  orator  purchased 
two  cups  (scyphos)  engraved  in  relief  by  Mentor,  which 
were  so  valuable  that  he  dared  not  use  them.'    Golden  vases 

»Liv.  XXXIV.  4.  4:  "antcfixa  iictilia  deorum  Romanorum  ridentis." 
Plaut.  Stick.  692.  ct  seq.:  for  use  of  Samian  ware  as  an  evidence  of 
poverty;  Capt.  290-2;  Plin.  H.  N.  XXXIII.  11  (50).  142.  cf.  Vint.  Aem. 
Paul  28.  Walters,  op.  cit.,  vol.  ii,  p.  43i.  points  out  that  in  spite  of 
increased  habits  of  luxury,  it  is  obvious  that  the  replacing  of  earthen- 
ware by  metal  could  never  have  become  universal. 

'  Aul.  Gell.  XVII.  21.  39. 

'  Plin.  H.  N.  XXXIII.  II  (50).  143- 

*lbid.  XXXIII.  i:  (50).  141. 

•/hU  XXXIII.  II  (53).  147- 


34  SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME  [34 

were  introduced  in  quantity  by  Aemilius  Paulus,  who 
brought  them  from  Macedon  to  be  carried  in  his  triumph/ 
The  dwelling  was  rendered  still  more  luxurious  in  its  fur- 
nishings by  the  introduction  of  rich  tapestries,  rugs,  and 
coverings  from  the  Orient.  Plautus  gives  a  vivid  description 
of  articles  brought  back  from  Asia,  and  his  list  is  strikingly 
similar  in  its  details  to  the  account  given  by  Livy  of  the 
introduction  of  Asiatic  luxury  at  the  triumph  of  Cn.  Man- 
lius  in  187  B.  C  The  impression  made  upon  the  unac- 
customed Roman  by  these  highly  colored  stuffs  is  amusingly 
illustrated  by  the  threat  of  a  master  to  his  slave  in  one  of 
the  comedies:  "Upon  your  back  T  will  mark  with  my 
lashes  a  pattern  so  variegated  that  no  Campanian  tapestr>^ 
or  Alexandrian  hanging  can  show  so  many  different 
colors."  ^ 

(b)    COUNTRY    ESTATE 

On  the  country  estate  the  buildings  included  the  dwelling- 
house,  the  stables,  the  storehouses,  and  the  poultry-yard. 
The  size  of  the  estate  was  uniformly  limited.  Cato  assumes 
240  iugera  as  a  standard  and   100  iugera  where  the  vine 

^  Plut.  Aem.  Paul.  33. 

References  to  both  gold  and  silverware  are  found  in  Plautus :  Tnu. 
53-4:  '' uasum  argenteum  aut  uasum  ahetium";  Pseud.  162:  '' argcntum 
eluito^  idem  exstruito"',  Amph.  760:  '' aurea)}!  pateram''  cf.  Ennius 
Ann/ Lib.  Inc.  CXLV.  624,  ed.  Vahl.  p.  116.  '' crateris  ex  aurafis 
hauserunt ". 

2  Plaut.  Stick.  376-381 : 

*'  Pi.  lanam  purpurantque  multani.  Ge,  est  qui  uentrem  uestianu 
Pi.  lectos  eburatos,  auratos.  Ge.  accubabo  regie. 
Pi.  turn  Babylonica  et  peristrouia  tonsilia  et  tappetia 
aduexit,  nimium  bonae  rei.  Ge.  herclc  rem  gcstam  betiel 
Pi.  pose,  ut  occepi  narrare,  Hdicinas,  tibicinas, 
sambucas  aduexit  secum  forma  eximia." 
cf.  Liv.  XXXIX.  6.  7. 
•Plaut.  Pseud.  145-7- 


35] 


DWELLING,  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 


35 


was  cultivated.^  The  owner  did  not  always  cultivate  the 
land  himself  but  might  lease  it  for  a  fixed  period,  in  which 
case  the  person  leasing  the  estate  and  the  owner  divided 
the  gross  products  according  to  proportions  agreed  upon. 
The  proprietor  under  such  an  arrangement  supplied  the 
fodder  for  the  work-animals.^ 

Among  the  products  of  the  estate  the  cultivation  of  the 
vine  and  the  olive  tree  w^as  of  utmost  importance.  The 
owner  might  gather  thein  himself  or  lease  the  harvest  to 
another.  Frequently  the  olives  and  grapes  were  sold  while 
they  were  still  growing.^  Various  kinds  of  grain  were 
cultivated:  wheat,  lupine,  spelt,  vetch,  barley.  The  pro- 
ducts of  the  farm  also  included  (i)  vegetables  such  as 
turnips,  onions,  lentils,  beans,  radishes,  asparagus,  and  that 
which  in  the  w^ords  of  Cato  '*  surpasses  all  vegetables  " — 
the  cabbage;  (2)  fruit  trees  such  as  apples,  pears,  and  figs; 
(3)  leafy  trees  and  shrubs  which  furnished  fodder  for  the 
cattle  and  wood  for  use  on  the  estate.* 

Oxen  and  asses  were  used  as  work-animals  for  drawing 

» Cato  R.  R.  X,  XI. 

^Jbid.  CXXXVI:  "m  agro  Casinate  et  Venafro  in  loco  bono  parti 
octaua  corbi  diuidat,  satis  bono  scptima,  tertio  loco  scxta;  si  granum 
modio  diuidet,  parti  quinta.  in  Venafro  ager  optimus  nona  parti  corbi 
diuidat.  si  communiter  pisunt,  qua  ex  parte  politori  pars  est,  earn  partem 
in  pistrinum  politor.  hordcum  quinta  modio,  fabam  quinta  modio  diui- 
dat"; ibid.  CXXXVII:  "  uineam  curandam  partiario.  bene  curet  fundum, 
arbustum,  agrum  frumentarium.  partiario  facnnm  et  pabulum,  quod 
bubus  satis  siet.  cetera  omnia  pro  indiuiso." 

*Cato  R.  R.  CXLIV:  '' oleam  legendam  hoc  modo  locare  oportet*'; 
CXLVI:  *' oleam  pendentem  hac  lege  uenire  oportet";  CXLVII: 
"  hac  lege  uinum  pendens  uenire  oportet." 

'Ibid.  XXXIV,  XXXV.  Vegetables:  loc.  cit.,  VI.  VIII.  Fruit  trees: 
VII.  3,  VIII.  I.  Other  trees:  VI.  3.  ''  circum  coronas  et  circum  uias 
ulmos  serito  et  partim  popiilos,  uti  frondem  ouibus  et  bubus  habeas"; 
VII.  i:  ''fundum  suburbanum  arbustum  maxime  conucnit  habere,  et 
ligna  et  uirgae  uenire  possunt,  et  domino  erit  qui  ufatur." 


36 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[36 


the  plows,  for  work  in  the  mill,  et  cetera.  These  animals 
were  not  as  a  rule  bred  on  the  farm  but  were  purchased 
from  outside,  and  Cato  prescribes  three  yoke  of  oxen  and 
four  asses  for  an  estate  of  240  iiigcra;  one  yoke  of  oxen  and 
three  asses  for  one  of  100  iugcra.  The  larger  cattle,  which 
were  used  in  field  work,  were  fed  during  the  summer  in 
their  stalls — the  only  time  they  were  permitted  to  graze  was 
in  the  winter.  They  were  not  important  as  a  source  of 
food,  as  the  meat  eaten  by  the  Romans  was  almost  exclu- 
sively lamb  or  some  fonn  of  pork.^  One  hundred  head  of 
sheep  were  estimated  to  a  large  estate.  Sometimes  the 
owner  turned  over  his  flock  to  a  lessee  and  shared  the  pro- 
duce or  leased  his  winter  pasture  to  the  owner  of  a  large 
flock.'  The  other  live  stock  of  the  farm  included  poultry 
and  geese,  pigeons,  and  swine. ^  The  latter  were  so  numer- 
ous that  Polybius  remarks  "  nowhere  are  more  pigs  slaught- 
ered than  in  Italy,  for  sacrifices  as  well  as  for  family  use."  * 
The  principles  of  agriculture  as  set  forth  by  Cato  in  his 
treatise  Dc  re  rustica  give  considerable  attention  to  details, 
and  even  the  most  minute  items  are  carefully  elucidated. 
The  idea  of  rotation  of  crops  was  understood  as  well  as  the 
advisability  of  growing  particular  crops  in  certain  varieties 

1  Cato  R.  R.  X.  I,  XI.  i;  LIV.  5:  '' boues  nisi  per  hicmcm,  £um  non 
arahunt,  pasci  non  oportet";  CLXII,  cf.  Plaut.  Capt.  849:  '' alium 
porcinam  atquc  agninam  ct  pullos  gallinaceos" ;  Cure.  323,  Mil.  Glor. 
759-60,  Aul.  330-1. 

'Cato  R.  R.  X.  I,  CXLIX,  CL;  Plaut.  True.  645-9: 

*'  Rus  mane  dudum  hine  ire  me  iussit  pater, 
ut  biibus  glandem  prandio  depromerem. 
post  xUojc  quam  ueni,  aduenit,  si  dis  plaeet, 
ad  iiillam  argentum  meo  qui  debebat  patri, 
qui  ouis  Tarentinas  erat  mercatus  de  patre." 

»Cato  R.  R.  LXXXIX:  " gallirtas  et  anseres'';  XC:  "  palumburn." 

*Polyb.  IT.  15  (trans.  Shuckburgh)  ef.  XII.  4. 


37] 


DWELLING,  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 


37 


of  soil.^  Irrigation  and  drainage  were  to  be  carried  on 
extensively,  and  fertilization  was  recognized  as  extremely 
important.-  In  the  words  of  Cato:  '*  Quid  est  agrum  bene 
colere^  bene  arare.  quid  secundum?  arare,  quid  fcrtiumf 
stercorare"  ^ 

In  spite  of  the  intensive  cultivation,  however,  the  pro- 
duction of  grain  had  already  become  less  profitable  than 
the  use  of  the  land  for  grazing  purposes.*  If  the  estate 
(fundus)  was  situated  near  Rome,  of  course  the  trade  with 
the  city  offered  a  good  opponunity  for  money-making,  and 
vegetables  of  all  kinds  from  the  garden,  live-stock,  firewood 
from  the  trees  and  shrubs,  all  found  a  market  there."  The 
fundus  was  to  a  large  extent  self-sufficing.  Certain  articles, 
nevertheless,  were  purchased  from  without,  in  which  case 
the  treatise  advises  the  best  places  to  buy  them:  the  coarse 
clothing  for  the  slaves,  jars  for  storing-purposes  (dolia, 
labra),  keys,  locks,  and  \xAts  were  to  be  obtained  at  Rome; 
iron  implements  at  Cales  and  at  Minturnae;  bronze  vessels 
at  Capua  or  Nola ;  baskets  at  Suessa  or  in  Campania.^ 

In  many  cases  public  affairs  or  business  enterprises  might 
make  it  necessary  for  the  owner  of  the  fundus  to  have  his 


*  Cato  R.  R.  XXVII :  "  Sementim  faeito,  ocinum,  uiciam,  faenum  grae- 
cum,  fabam,  eruum,  pabulum  bubus.  alteram  et  tertiam  pabuli  sationem 
faeito.  deinde  alia  fruges  serito.  scrobis  in  ueruaeto  oleis,  ulmis,  uitibus, 
Hcis:  simul  cum  semine  serito.  si  erit  loeus  siccus,  tum  okas  per  semen- 
tim serito^  et  quae  ante  satae  erunt,  tencras  tum  supputato  et  arbores 
ablaqueato";  XXXIV,  XXXV. 

irrigation  and  drainage:  ibid.  II.  4,  CLV;  construction  of  drains: 
XLIII.  I ;  fertilization:  V.  8,  XXXVII.  2,  3;  XXXVIIT.  4. 

^Ibid.  LXI.  I. 

*  Cato  Mem.  Diet.  63,  ed.  Jord.  p.  108 :"  a  sene  Catone  cum  quaercrctur, 
quid  maxime  in  re  familiari  e.vpediret,  respondit:  bene  pascere;  quid 
secundum  f  satis  bene  pascere;  quid  tertium/  bene  arare." 

'  Cato  R.  R,  VII.  I,  VIII.  2. 

Uhid.  CXXXV.  1-3. 


38 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[3B 


residence  at  Rome.  The  superintendence  of  the  farm  work 
was  then  left  to  the  uilicus,  and  this  office  was  already  very 
extensive.  The  proprietor  visited  the  villa  only  at  intervals 
to  go  over  the  accounts,  to  hear  reports,  and  to  issue  in- 
structions.' The  general  prevalence  of  the  tiilicus,  which 
thus  made  possible  the  prolonged  absence  of  the  master,  is 
an  indication  of  a  growing  tendency  to  regard  the  city  as 
the  permanent  home  and  the  country  as  a  place  of  retire- 
ment and  rest.  This  sentiment  finds  expression  in  Terence : 
"  My  country  estate  offers  me  this  opportunity — that  I 
never  become  bored  with  either  the  farm  or  the  city,  but 
whenever  I  grow  weary  of  one,  turn  to  the  other."  ^ 

»Cato  R.  R.  II,  V,  CXLII.  The  uilicus  is  further  discussed  in  the 
chapter  on  "  Slaves  **. 

'Ten  Eun.  971-3;  r/.  Liv.  XXII.  15.  2:  ''  arbusta  uineaeque  et  consita 
omnia  magis  amoenis  qtuun  tiecessarus  fructibus'\  indicating  that  at 
the  time  of  the  invasion  of  Hannibal  the  land  was  already  being  planted 
for  other  than  utilitarian  purposes. 


CHAPTER  II 


Women  and  Marriage 

In  the  Roman  household  or  familia  were  included  the 
husband    and    wafe,    their    children    (sons   or    unmarried 
daughters),  the  wives  and  children  of  the  married  sons, 
the  slaves,  and  finally,  the  household  gods.     The  head  of  ^ 
the  familia  was  the  pater,  and  the  property  and  things  under  ; 
his  control  were  referred  to  as  sua  res,  res  familiaris,  or  -i 
res  communis.    The  term  familia  itself  is  joined  in  fonnal 
expressions  with  domus  as  damns  familiaque.^ 

Legal  marriage  could  be  contracted  only  by  people  politi- 
cally capable  of  forming  the  alliance:  a  freeborn  man  could 
not  marry  a  freedwoman.  Exemption  from  this  prohibi- 
tion, however,  could  be  granted  by  the  Senate.'  Marquardt 
states  in  general  that  the  legal  age  for  marriage  was  four- 
teen for  the  man  and  twelve  for  the  woman,  but  that  in 
practise  the  man  did  not  marry  until  after  the  assumption 
of  the  toga  uirilis  (seventeen  years),  and  the  girl  also  mar- 
ried later  than  the  age  mentioned  above.  The  most  exact 
reference  to  the  age  of  the  girl  in  the  Palliatae  is  in  the 

'  Plut.  Cat.  maj.  24;  Ter.  Hec. :  the  wife  and  child  of  the  married  son 
Hving  with  the  parents  of  the  husband,  cf.  Ad.  910:  "  traduce  et  matrem 
et  familiam  omncm  ad  nos";  Phorm.  S7^'-  '' ipsaw  cum  omni  familia*' ; 
Plant.  Aul.  Pro.  2:  "ego  Lar  sum  familiaris  ex  hac  familia'';  Cato 
R.  R.  passim.  Plant.  Trin.  114;  Liv.  XXII.  53-  "^  "-^"^  ^^-f"'  ^^^^^t- 
Cure.  552,  Trin.  38:  ''res  priuata" ;  Stick.  145,  525*.  "res  familiaris"; 
Amph.  499:  ''res  communis";  Cato  R.  R.  CXXXIV.  2,  CXXXIX, 
CXLI.  2:  ''damns  familiaque." 

« Liv.  XXXIX.  19.  5. 

39]  ^ 


40 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[40 


41] 


WOMEN  AND  MARRIAGE 


41 


^ 

^ 


Phormio  of  Terence,  in  which  a  marriage  is  arranged  for 
/  a  girl  of  fourteen.    That  this  was  the  accepted  age  is  sug- 
gested by  the  words  '"  non  mancbat  actas  uirginis  nieam 
ncclegentiamJ'  ^      Marriage   was    permitted    between    first 

i  cousins  from  the  time  of  the  second  Punic  War.^ 
The  consent  of  the  patresfamilias  was  the  essential  con- 
dition of  the  validity  of  the  marriage.  The  patrcsfamUia^ 
of  course  were  not  in  every  case  the  fathers  of  the  young 
couple,  as  when  the  paternal  grandfather  still  lived,  it  was 
he  who  had  the  power  as  head  of  the  house.  It  is  interest- 
ing to  note  that  while  for  the  marriage  of  a  man,  the  con- 
sent of  both  the  father  and  of  the  grandfather — and  if  he 
were  alive,  of  the  great-grandfather — was  asked,  in  the 
case  of  the  marriage  of  a  girl,  the  consent  of  the  grand- 
father was  asked  without  that  of  the  father.* 
I  In  arranging  a  match,  social  and  financial  equality  were 
/usually  considered  more  desirable  than  extreme  wealth.* 
There  were  of  course  exceptions  to  this  general   feeling. 

*  Marquardt,  Vie  privee  des  R.,  vol  i,p.  36.   Ter.  Phorm.  570-1  cf.  1017. 

^Liv.  XLII.  34.  3  (171  B.  C).  ''pater  mihi  uxorem  fratris  sui  filiam 
deditr 

'Girard,  Manuel  elementaire  de  droit  romain  (Paris,  1911),  pp.  I55-^- 
Ter.  Phorm.  yzZ'-  "  iniirmas  nuptias,"  because  the  consent  of  the  pater 
has  not  been  obtained;  ibid.  231-3:  "  itane  taudem  uxorem  duxit  Antipho 
iniussu  meo?  \  nee  meum  imperium,  ac  mitto  imperium,  non  simultatem 
meam  \  reucreri  saltern"'.  Ad.  334:  "1/0  ohsecraturum  ut  liceret  hanc 
sibi  uxoretn  ducere"  Even  in  a  later  period  when  respect  for  the 
patria  potestas  was  declining,  a  marriage  which  a  youth  had  been  forced 
by  the  pater  to  contract  against  his  own  wishes,  was  held  to  be  legal,  cf. 
P.  Juventius  Celsus,  consul  129  A.  D.,  Dig.  XXIII.  2.  (de  ritu 
nuptiarum).  22,  Karlowa,  Romische  Rechtsgeschichte  (Leipsig,  1885), 
vol.  i,  p.  706. 

*  Considerations  in  arranging  a  marriage:  Plant.  Aul  212,  et  seq.: 
genus,  Mes,  facta,  aetas.  Undesirability  of  a  wealthy  marriage  for  a 
poor  girl:  Plant.  Aul.  226,  et  seq.,  Trin.  451,  et  seq.;  Ter.  Phorm.  653: 

I    "iM  seruitutem  pauperem  ad  ditem  dari"  (for  in  matrimonium). 


The  humble  client  of  Cato,  for  example,  gladly  accepted 
the  proposal  that  he  give  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  his 
noble  patron.  Probably  in  this  case,  however,  the  natural 
and  expected  deference  of  a  diem  to  the  wish  of  his  pa- 
tromis,  was  effective  in  influencing  his  attitude.  That  such 
a  union  of  persons  in  different  stations  was  infrequent  is 
suggested  by  the  statement  that  "  this  proposal  at  first  as 
might  be  expected,  astonished  the  secretary,  who  .  .  .  bad 
never  dreamed  that  his  hutnble  family  would  be  allied  with 
a  house  which  could  boast  of  consulates  and  triumphs."  ' 
The  unpleasant  jx)sition  of  a  poor  man  who  foolishly 
gives  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  a  rich  husband  is  pictured 
to  us  in  the  following  terms : 

You  are  a  rich  man,  Megadorus,  a  man  of  influential  connec- 
tions, while  I  am  the  poorest  of  the  poor.  Now  if  I  gave  my 
daughter  to  you  in  marriage,  the  thought  suggests  itself  to  me 
that  you  would  be  like  an  ox  and  I,  like  an  ass;  when  I  was 
yoked  with  you  and  could  not  bear  an  equal  share  of  the 
burden,  I,  the  ass,  would  lie  prostrate  in  the  mud,  and  you,  the 
ox,  would  not  consider  me  any  more  than  if  I  had  never  been 
born.  I  would  find  you  a  bad  match  for  me ;  my  own  class 
would  laugh  at  me;  and  I  would  have  nowhere  to  turn  for 
refuge  if  there  should  be  a  divorce.  The  asses  would  tear  me 
with  their  teeth,  the  oxen  would  gore  me  with  their  horns.  It 
is  a  great  risk— to  rise  from  the  rank  of  the  asses  to  that  of 
the  oxen.- 

The  celebration  of  the  marriage  itself  was  preceded  by 
the  rite  of  betrothal.  The  agreement  was  cemented  by  the 
formula  spondesne  .  .  .  spondeo,  but  except  for  the  in- 
sistence upon  the  utterance  of  these  specific  words,  no 
formal  ceremony  was  called  for.     The  patres  of  the  young 

^  Plut.  Cat.  maj.  24. 

'  Plant.  Aul.  226,  et  seq. 


42 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[42 


couple  arranged  the  match  between  them,  or  the  suitor  ad- 
dressed himself  personally  to  the  pater  of  the  girl.  Wit- 
nesses of  the  betrothal  contract  were  not  required.  They 
were  frequently  present,  however,  and  possibly  this  was 
the  general  practice.  The  betrothal  did  not  bind  the  two 
parties  unalterably  to  the  consummation  of  the  marriage, 
as  it  might  be  broken  off  by  a  repudium  on  either  side.' 

The  oldest  form  of  marriage  w^as  the  nuinus  marriage. 
In  this  the  wife  came  absolutely  into  the  power  of  her  hus- 
band and  possessed  a  pecuUum  only  on  sufferance.  The 
condition  of  a  wife  in  such  a  union  is  expressed  by  Plautus 
in  the  words :  "  A  virtuous  woman  should  have  no  peculium 
without  the  knowledge  of  her  husband  .  .  .  whatever  be- 
longs to  you  is  all  of  it  absolutely  the  property  of  your 
.  spouse.''  ^  Certain  passages  in  the  comedies,  however,  indi- 
cate another  form  of  marriage,  a  form  in  which  the  wife 
remained  under  the  power  of  her  pater  and  retained  the 
right  to  her  own  property.  The  plays  do  not  give  us  the 
name  of  this  form,  but  it  apparently  corresponds  to  the 
marriage  sine  conventione  in  manum.^ 


*  Arranged  between  patres:  Tcr.  And.  102;  Ex  incert.  incert  fab. 
VIII,  Ribb.  Frag.  Com.  p.  114:  "  sponden  tuam  gnatam  iilio  uxorem 
meo";  Liv.  XLII.  34.  3.  Between  suitor  and  pater:  Plut.  Cat.  maj. 
24;  Plaut.  Trin.  1 157-8.  Aul.  238,  256-7,  Cure.  674,  Pocn.  1157;  Pacuvius 
Dulorestes  II  (12),  Ribb.  Frag.  Com.  p.  91.  Repudium:  Plaut.  Aul. 
783;  Ter.  Phorm.  928;  cf.  And.  148-9. 

«Ter.  And.  2^7:  "'in  mantim":  Titinius  Fullonia  I  (4),  Ribb.  Frag. 
Com.  p.  135:  ''ego  me  mandatam  meo  uiro  male  arbitror  |  qui  rem 
disperdit,  et  m^am  dotem  comcst'';  Plaut.  Cos.  197-202. 

*  Plaut.  Stick.  S3 '  two  married  daughters  refer  to  themselves  as  in 
'  patrx  potestate;  Men.  799-805:  the  father  of  the  wife  is  angry  not  at 
:  the  unfaithfulness  of  the  husband  but  at  his  stealing  gold  and  jewels 
■  from  her;  cf.  Cato  Orat.  reliq.  XXXII.  i,  ed.  Jord.  p.  54*.  ''  principio 
'  uobis  mulier  magnam   dotem    attulit,   turn   magnam   pei:uniam    recipit, 

quam  in  uiri  potestatem  non  conmittat.  earn  pecuniam  uiro  mutuam  dat. 
postea,  ubi  irata  facta  est,  seruum  recepticium  sectari  et  Hagitare  uirum 


\ 


43] 


WOMEN  AND  MARRIAGE 


43 


There  were  three  methods  of  entering  into  the  maniis 
marriage,  (i)  Confarreatio,  or  religious  marriage.  This 
had  existed  from  a  very  early  date.  It  was  doubtless  still 
retained  among  conservative  aristocratic  families,  but  it 
was  becoming  less  frequent,  and  in  any  case  was  probably 
never  open  to  plebeians.  (2)  Coemptio.  This  form  is  often 
described  as  "  le  mariage  civil  a  cote  du  manage  religieux, 
le  mariage  plebeien  a  cote  du  mariage  patricien  ".  In  it  | 
the  bride  was  acquired  in  the  same  way  as  a  slave  or  a  valu-  I 
able  piece  of  property.  (3)  Usus— by  prescription,  if  the 
wife  remained  with  the  husband  continuously  for  one  year. 
Rossbach  describes  this  form  as  "  das  Resultat  der  Periode, 
wo  man  der  mamis  schon  zu  entgehen  suchte,  ohne  sie  jedoch 
aufheben  zu  wollen  '\     An  example  of  the  form  is  given 

in  Plautus.^ 

The  introduction  of  the  marriage  without  manus,  how- 
ever, presented  new  difficulties.  This  marriage  did  not 
require  any  inten^ention  of  public  authority.  Its  validity 
did  not  depend  on  the  betrothal,  the  festivities  and  cere- 
monies, or  the  drawing  up  of  a  document  regulating  the 
pecuniary  relations  of  the  couple  (instrumentum  dotale), 
but  on  the  other  hand  it  was  not  formed  simply  by  the 

Met";  Ennius  Cresphontes  III  (7).  Ribb.  Frag.  Trag.  pp.  29-30: 
"  Iniurta  abs  te  adHcior  indigna,  pater, 
Nam  si  inprobum  esse  Cressipontem  existimas. 
Cur  me  Jiuic  locabas  nuptiisf    Sin  est  probus, 
Cur  talem  inuitam  inuitum  cogis  linquere?" 
Marquardt,  Vie  privee  des  R.,  vol.  i,  p.  39- 

Karlowa,  Romische  Rechtsgeschichte  (Leipsic,  1885-1901),  vol.  ii,  pp. 
167-9,  in  his  discussion  of  the  marriage  without  mamis  considers  that 
this  form  first  became  frequent  in  the  lower  classes  of  society  and 
from  there  found  its  way  more  and  more  into  the  higher  classes.  On 
the  basis  of  Macrob.  I.  6  he  concludes  that  "im  Stande  der  Freige- 
lassenen  die  Ehe  ohne  manus  verbreiteter  waren,  als  im  Stande  der 
Freigeborenen  '*. 

^Girard,  op.  cit.,  pp.  151-3;  Rossbach,  Romische  Ehe  (Stuttgart, 
1853),  p.  65.    Plaut.  True.  392-3- 


44 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[44 


interchange  of  nuptial  consent.  In  some  cases  the  duetto 
lixoris  in  domnm  mariti— the  leading  of  the  bride  to  her 
new  home— was   regarded  as  the  criterion  of   completed 

marriage/ 

The  ceremony   with   its   careful    preparations   to    make 

sanctas  nuptias  ''  customarily  took  place  in  the  home  of  the 
bride.    While  the  comedies  give  instances  of  the  cena  takmg 
place  in  the  home  of  the  groom,  it  is  in  that  case  possible 
that  a  large  part  of  the  marriage  ceremony  was  omitted. 
In  the  Aididaria  of  Plautus  the  groom  provides  the  pro- 
visions for  the  banquet,  but  this  occurrence  is  plainly  re- 
garded as  unusual  and  surprising,  and  is  explained  by  one 
of  the  characters  of  the  play  on  the  ground  of  the  poverty 
of  the  father  of  the  bride.     Moreover,  even  here,  the  latter 
feels  it  incumbent  upon  him  to  purchase  at  least  "  a  trifle 
of  incense  and  floral  wreaths  "  to  decorate  his  house  for 
the  ceremony,  and  the  fact  that  the  banquet,  although  he 
does  not  pay  for  the  provisions,  is  nevertheless  sensed  in 
his  house,  indicates  this  as  the  recognized  usage.^ 

The  ceremony  was  a  lengthy  affair.  Auspices  were  taken 
first  in  order  to  assure  propitious  conditions.  It  was  neces- 
sar>^  that  the  household  gods  of  the  family  of  the  bride 
and  of  the  family  of  the  groom  should  approve  in  order 
that  the  marriage  prove  fortnuata.  In  the  adornment  of 
the  house  for  the  ceremony,  therefore,  wreaths  were  hung 
on  the  hearth  for  the  Lar  and  incense  burned.  The  cere- 
money  ended  w4th  a  cena.^ 

»Girard,  loc.  cit.,  cf.  Muirhead,  Historual  Introduction  to  the  Private 
Law  of  Rome  (London,  1899),  p.  S^S- 

'  fer.  Ad.  899-900:  "' sanctas  nuptias  . .  .consiiminit  diem** 

aPIaut.  Cure.  728,  Aid.  261,  et  seq.,  294-5:  ''hie  non  poterat  de  suo  \ 
senex  opsonari  filiai  nuptiis?"    Ibid.  384-7- 

*Plaut.  Cas.  86:  "  ultro  ibit  nuptum,  non  manebat  auspices";  AuL 
386-7;  Ter.  Ad.  699:  '' abi  domtim  ac  deos  conprecare  ut  uxorem  ac- 
cersas**\  Ex  incert.  insert,  fab.  XXIV,  Ribb.  Frag.  Com.  p.  117:  "cum 
tetulit  coronam  ob  colligandas  nuptias.'* 


45] 


WOMEN  AND  MARRIAGE 


45 


At  nightfall  the  banquet  came  to  an  end,  and  the  dediictio 
took  place — the  leading  of  the  bride  to  her  new  home.  The 
dednctio  was  the  occasion  for  a  festal  procession  preceded 
by  flute-players  and  torch-bearers,  which  finally  congre- 
gated in  a  merry  throng  before  the  house  of  the  groom.' 
Upon  her  arrival  the  noua  niipta  annointed  the  posts  of  the 
door  and  bound  them  with  bands  of  wool."  Great  care  had 
to  be  taken  in  crossing  the  sill  to  avoid  the  ill  omen  of 

stumbling.^ 

The  existence  of  a  dowry  was  the  distinguishing  feature 
of    matrimoniiun,    for   without    a    dowry    marriage    with 
equality  on  both  sides  was  considered  impossible.*     The  \ 
size  of  the  dowry  naturally  varied.     In  the  Heauton  of 
Terence  a  modest  dowry  of  only  two  talents  is  given,  but  in 
the  Andria  and  in  the  Mercator  of  Plautus  ten  talents  areii 
mentioned;  in  the  Cistellaria  twenty  talents;  Polybias  tells* 
us  the  dowry  of  the  wife  of  L.  Aemilius  Paulus  was  twenty- 
five  talents ;  and  in  some  cases  the  amount  reached  as  high 
as  fifty  talents.^ 

1  Plaut.  Cas.  118,  533,  798,  856:  ''ludos  in  tiiam  nuptialis**;  Ter.  Hec. 
135 :  "  uxorem  deducit  domum  "  ;  Ad.  907 :  "  hymenaeum  turbas  lampadas 
tibicinas";  Pacuvius  Dulorestes  I  (4),  Ri^^b.  Frag.  Trag.  p.  91: 
"  hymenaeum  fremunt  |  Aequales,  aula  resonit  crepitu  musico." 

2  Don.  ad.  Ter.  Hec.  I.  2.  60.  ''uxor  dicitur  uel  ab  ungendis  postibus 
ct  agenda  lana,  id  est  quod  cum  puellae  nuberent,  maritorum  pastes 
ungebant  ibique  lanam  figebant." 

*  Plaut.  Cas.  815-6:  ''sensim  super  atiolle  limen  pedes,  noua  nupta.*' 

*  Plaut.  Trin.  690-1:  "in  concubinatum  tibi,  |  si  sine  dote  <demy, 
dedisse  magi'  quam  in  matrimonium  "  cf.  Ter.  Phorm.  6=;3 :  ''in  serui- 
tutem  pauperem  ad  ditem  dari";  Ad.  758-9, 'P7ion«.  120,  And.  396: 
Plaut.  Aul^Zlgi,  Cure.  664,  Trin.  505,  et  seq. 

5  Ter.  Heaut.  838,  940,  And.  95i ;  Plaut.  Merc.  703,  Cist.  561;  Polyb. 
XVIII.  35,  XXXII.  13.  The  dowry  was  not  usually  paid  all  at  one 
time.  The  Roman  law  enjoined  the  payment  of  money  due  to  women 
as  dowry  in  three  annual  installments,  "  the  personal  outfit  having  been 
first  paid  within  ten  months  according  to  custom."  Sometimes  half  the 
dowry  was  paid  down  at  once  to  the  husbands.     (Polyb.  XXXII.  13.) 


46 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[46 


'      The  amount  of  the  dowry  greatly  influenced  the  relations 

of  the  wife  to  her  husband,  a  large  dowry  naturally  giving 

the  wife  more  assurance  and  independence.     The  question 

of  the  dowry  is  frequently  brought  up  in  Plautus  and  is 

,  always  the  subject  of  satirical  comment  and  adverse  criti- 

\  cism— the  husband  has  sold  his  authority  in  receiving  the 

dowr>'   (Asin.  87)  ;  a  dowry  and  money  seem  attractive 

before  marriage  but  not  after   {Epid.   180)  ;  to  marry  a 

rich  wife  is  to  bring  a  barking  dog  into  the  house  (Mil 

Glor.  681);  and  so  on.^     These  and  similar  passages  in- 

'  dicate  that  whenever  there  was  a  large  dowry,  the  mamis 

of  the  husband  was  correspondingly  weakened. 

Lacombe,  La  Famille  dans  la  societe  romainc  (Paris, 
1889),  p.  191,  et  seq.,  maintains  the  following  theor\':  that 
as  there  were  no  cautiones  nor  actions  for  dowry  before 
231  B.  C,  it  is  probable  that  the  custom  of  the  dowry  was 
established  in  Rome  about  the  beginning  of  the  second  cen- 
tur>^  B.  C. ;  that  as  Plautus  is  one  of  the  first  witnesses  for 
the  existence  of  the  dowry,  his  criticism  of  it  is  possibly  to 
be  explained  on  the  ground  of  its  being  a  still  recent  innova- 
tion, especially  as  Valerius  Maximus  (IV.  4)  seems  to 
indicate  the  appearance  of  the  custom  of  dowry  at  approxi- 
mately this  time;  that  the  presence  of  the  dowr>^  made  mar- 
riage in  manii  undesirable,  and  therefore  the  bride  came  to 
remain  more  and  more  in  patria  pot  estate. 

This  theor>',  however,  is  entirely  unsubstantiated.  The 
passage  of  Ser\ius  (Aul.  Cell.  IV.  3.  i,  2.)  explains  the 
lack  of  actions  for  dowry  by  the  absence  of  divorce,  and 
the  passage  from  Valerius  Maximus  does  not  appear  to 
establish  the  introduction  of  the  dowry  but  rather  its  recog- 

^Cf.  Plaut.  Most.  281,  703,  et  seq.\  Titinius  Procilia  III  (i),  Ribb. 
Frag.  Com.  p.  144:  ''  dotihus  deleniti  ultro  etiatn  uxoribus  ancillantur ''  \ 
Caecilius  Statius  Plocium,  Ribb.  Frag.  Com.  p.  58,  et  seq.:  ''quae  nisi 
dotem  omnia  \  quae  nolis,  habet.*' 


^yi  IVOMEN  AND  MARRIAGE  47 

nized  necessity.  While  among  the  fragments  of  the  Tables 
there  is  none  that  refers  to  a  wife's  marriage  provision 
{dos)y  it  is  hardly  conceivable  that  it  was  as  yet  unknown.^ 
Women  were  still  legally  regarded  as  dependent.  Ac- 
cording to  the  conserv^ative  idea,  which  Cato  wished  to  up- 
hold, women  were  not  allowed  to  transact  even  private 
business  sine  tutore  auctore,  and  were  in  niatiu  .  .  . 
parentium,  fratrum,  uirorum.^  As  the  nianus  marriage 
became  less  frequent,  the  woman  remained,  when  not  in 
the  power  of  her  husband,  under  the  power  of  her  own 
paterfamilias,  or  if  she  was  sui  juris,  under  the  guardian- 
ship of  her  agnates.  The  passages  from  Livy,  cited  below, 
in  regard  to  the  authority  exercised  over  a  woman  are  ob- 
scure. In  the  expression  midieres  damnatas  cognatis  ant  in 
quorum  manu  csscnt,  it  is  uncertain  (i)  whether  he  refers 
to  two  separate  classes  of  women,  i.  e.  those  who  were  in 
manu  and  those  who  were  not,  in  which  case  cogiiatis  is 
used  in  a  general  sense  to  include  agnates,  or  (2)  whether 
he  uses  the  term  cognatis  to  refer  to  those  who  had  origi- 
nally been  the  agnates  of  the  wife,  and  were  now  her  cog- 
nates. Mommsen  notes  these  two  passages,  but  he  does  not 
settle  the  question  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  term  cognatis, 
as  he  renders  it  by  "  Verwandten  ",  which  is  equally  in- 
definite.*' According  to  Livy,  a  husband  could  confer  on 
his  wife  by  will  the  right  of  choosing  her  own  guardian 
and  of  alienating  her  property.*    If  the  woman  had  neither 


^  Muirhead,  op.  cit.,  pp.  11 1-2. 

^Liv.  XXXIV.  2.  II. 

'Plaut.  Stick.  53:  "t»  patri'  potestate".  Girard,  op.  cit.,  p.  167.  Liv. 
XXXIX.  18.  6:  ''midieres  damnatas  cognatis  aut  in  quorum  manu  esseni 
tradebant'';  Liv.  Ep.  XLVIII:  "  cognatorum  decreto  necatae  sunt". 
Mommsen,  Romisches  Strafrecht  (Leipsig,  1899),  p.  I9- 

*  Liv.  XXXIX.  19.  5 :  "  datio  demtnutio  . . .  tutoris  optio  item  essent, 
quasi  ei  uir  testamento  dedisset." 


48 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[48 


a  statutory  or  a  testamentary  guardian,  the  magistrates  had 
?he  right  ;o  appoint  a  gvmrdian  for  her.  The  patronus  was 
the  ^ardian  of  an  unmarried  libcrta.' 

In  free  marriage  the  dowr>^  became  the  property  of  the 
husband,  and  the  fact  that  he  was  as  a  rule  under  an  obli- 
gation to  restore  the  dos  afterwards,  did  not  dimmish  the 
extent  of  his  powers.     According  to  the  civil  law  ot  the 
Republic,  the  husband  was  legally  entitled  to  keep  the  dos 
even  after  the  termination  of  the  marriage,  altho  it  was 
customar>^  for  him  to  return  it.     It  therefore  became  the 
usual  practise  for  the  person  giving  the  dos^  to  bind  the 
husband  by  an  express  agreement-a  stipulation  known  as 
the  cautio  rei  nxorin^^— to  return  the  dos  on  the  dissolution 
of  the  marriage.     About  200  B.   C.   an  action,  actio  rei 
uxoriae,  was  granted   for  the  recover>^  of   the  c/o.^  even 
where  there  had  been  no  express  agreement  for  its  return." 
In  regard  to  the  rest  of  their  property,  the  husband  and 
wife  in  the  marriage  without  mayius  remained  in  theory  in- 
dependent of  each  other,  altho  the  woman  might  ot  course 
entrust  her  property  to  her  husband.^     This  condition  ot 
things  was  favorable  to  the  concentration  of  capital  m  the 
hands  of  women,  and  they  gained  increasing  independence 
along  these  lines,  altho  the  state  attempted  to  check  it  by 
the  lex   Voconia  '' ne  quis  .  .  .  heredem,  nirgincm,  miie 
mulicrevi  faceretJ'  * 

'  Liv.  XXXIX.  9.  7- 

'Sohrn,  Institutes  (Oxford,  1907),  p.  4^7,  et  seq. 

^  Cato  Orat.  reliq.  XXXII.  i,  ed.  Jord.  p.  54;  cf.  Plaut.  Men.  799- 
805.    Girard,  op.  cit.,  p.   167. 

*The  date  of  this  law  is  disputed.  Twiss,  in  his  edition  of  Livy 
(Oxford,  1840-1),  XLI.  28n.,  takes  up  the  question.  He  points  out 
that  Cicero  (in  Verr.  II.  i.  42)  states  that  Voconius  established  con- 
cerning those  of  whom  a  census  should  be  taken  after  A.  Postumius 
and  Q  Fulvius  were  censors,  so  that  these  censors  seem  clearly  to 
have  been  mentioned  in  the  law.    The  appointment  of  these  censors  is 


^^]  WOMEN  AND  MARRIAGE  49 

The  exact  date  at  which  divorce  was  admitted  to  Rome 
is  uncertain.  The  first  case  was  given  by  the  ancients  them- 
selves at  that  of  Sp.  Carvilius  in  231  B.  C,  but  probably 
this  signifies  little  more  than  that  it  was  the  first  which  was 
generally  known.  An  earlier  case  is  mentioned  in  306  B. 
C.^  When  the  inanus  had  been  acquired  by  the  religious 
ceremony  of  confarreatio,  a  contrar}^  religious  act,  the 
diifarreatio,  was  required  to  dissolve  the  marriage,  but  mar- 
riages by  coemptio  or  iisus  were  dissolved  by  renumcipatio} 
Cicero  gives  the  formula  of  repudiation  of  the  XII  Tables 
as  domes  adimere,  exigere,  but  Muirhead  believes  that  the 
procedure  to  which  Cicero  alludes,  can  hardly  have  applied 
to  the  marriage  contracted  by  confarreatio   or  coemptio, 

mentioned  XLI.  27,  and  there  is  no  lacuna  intervening.  Therefore,  it 
follows  that  Livy  treated  of  the  Voconian  law  at  the  end  of  the  book. 
Cicero  (de  Senect.  14)  states  that  the  Voconian  law  was  passed  in  the 
consulship  of  Caepio  and  PhiHppus,  who  were  consuls  five  years  later. 
Twiss  explains  this  discrepancy  on  the  grounds  that  Livy  and  Cicero 
differed  as  to  the  date  of  Cato,  Livy  making  him  five  years  older  than 
Cicero  does.  Cicero  {loc.  cit.)  writes  that  Cato  advocated  the  Voconian 
law  at  the  age  of  sixty-five,  which  year  of  the  life  of  Cato  would  fall 
according  to  Cicero's  chronology  in  the  year  of  the  consulship  of 
Caepio  and  Philippus,  while  according  to  Livy  the  sixty-fifth  year  of 
Cato's  life  would  be  five  years  earlier  and  therefore  fall  in  the  consul- 
ship of  Sp.  Postumius  and  Q.  Mucins,  t.  e.  174  B.  C.  where  Twiss  puts 
the  law;  cf.  XXXIX.  40.  I2n.  ''qui  sextum  et  octogesivium  annum 
agens  causam  dixerit'*:  according  to  Cicero  (dc  Senect.  lo)  Cato  was 
born  the  year  before  Q.  Fabius  Maximus  was  first  made  consul. 
Therefore,  since  it  is  agreed  that  he  died  in  the  consulship  of  L. 
Marcius  Censorinus  and  M*.  Manilius  in  the  first  year  of  the  Third 
Punic  War,  it  follows  that  he  lived  only  eighty-five  years.  Doubtless, 
however,  Livy  used  other  authorities,  for  by  the  sentence  following, 
*'  nonagesimo  anno  Ser.  Galbam  ad  populi  adduxerit  iudicium,"  in  the 
year  in  which  Cato  accused  Galba,  which  was  the  last  year  of  his  life, 
Livy  makes  Cato  ninety  years  old.  Therefore  there  is  a  discrepancy 
of  five  years  in  the  estimates  of  the  age  of  Cato,  which  may  account 
for  the  discrepancy  in  the  date  of  the  law. 

'  Aul.  Cell.  IV.  3.  1-2;  Val.  Max.  II.  9.  2  cf.  Uv.  IX.  43-  25. 

'  Sohm,  op.  cit.,  p.  474,  et  seq. 


50 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[50 


and  probably  referred  to  the  loose  and  informal  plebeian 
marriage/     The  formulae  tuas  res  habeto  and  i  foras  are 

found  in  Plautus.^ 

Under  the  manus  marriage  the  wife  did  not  have  the 
power  either  to  require  or  prevent  a  divorce,  but  the  right 
of  breaking  off  the  marriage  without  nujnus  was  naturally 
permitted  to  both  those  whose  consent  was  required  for  its 
formation.  If  the  dissolution  of  the  marriage  was  due  to 
the  fault  of  the  wife,  the  husband  was  permitted  to  make 
certain  deductions  in  returning  the  dos,  and  similarly  if  the 
divorce  had  been  occasioned  by  the  husband,  he  was  sub- 
jected to  certain  penalties.  During  the  second  century  B. 
C.  divorce  became  more  easy  and  frequent  until  in  the  late 
Republic  there  was  no  need  of  serious  motive.^ 

There  is  some  indication  in  Plautus  that  when  the  husband 
had  been  absent  three  years,  and  the  wife  had  not  received 
news  of  him,  a  new  marriage  might  be  legally  contracted.* 
This    three  year    law    does    not    appear    definitely    stated 

iCic.  Phil.  II.  28.  69;  Muirhead,  op.  cit.  pp.  112-3. 

2  Plaut.  Trin.  266:  '' tuas  res  iibi  habeto"',  Amph.  928:  '' tibi  habeas 
res  tuas,  reddas  meas";  Cas.  210-2:  "t  foras." 

»  Girard,  op.  cit.,  p.  160,  et  seq. ;  Sohm,  op.  cit.,  p.  469-  Divorce  by 
wife:  Plaut.  Amph.  928;  Mil.  Glor.  1 166-7:  '' hasce  esse  aedis  dicas 
dotalis  tuas,  \  hinc  senem  aps  te  abiisse,  postquam  feceris  diuortium'\ 
Divorce  by  husband:  Plaut.  Men.  113,  Cas.  210-2;  Ter.  Hec.  154-5: 
"reddi  patri  autem,  quoi  tu  nil  dicas  uiti,  \  superbumst" ;  ibid.  502: 
"renumeret  dotent  hue,  eat":  Plut.  A  em.  Paul.  5:  "after  living  with 

her  [Papiria]  for  a  considerable  time,  divorced  her No  reason  for 

their  separation  has  come  down  to  us."  Cato  Orat.  reliq.  LXVIII. 
I,  ed.  Jord.  p.  68:  "  Vir  cum  diuortium  fecit,  mulieri  iudex  pro  censore 
est,  imperium  quod  uidetur  habet;  si  quid  peruerse  taetreque  factum  est 
a  muliere,  multatur;  si  uinum  bibit,  si  cum  alieno  uiro  probri  quid  fecit, 
condemnatur";  ibid.  LXVIII.  2.  Cic.  ad  Fam.  VIII.  7:  "Paula  Valeria, 
soror  Triari,  diuortium  sine  causa,  quo  die  uir  e  prouincia  uenturus 
erat,  fecit." 

*  Plaut.  Stich.  29-30:  ''nam  uiri  nostri  domo  ut  abierunt  \  hie  iertiui 
annus." 


ci]  WOMEN  AND  MARRIAGE  51 

among  the  laws  of  the  period,  but  its  existence  is  suggested 
by  analogy  with  later  legislation.  The  following  laws  under 
the  Empire  offer  a  source  from  which  the  inference  may  be 
drawn:  (i)  the  right  of  postliminium  was  not  exercised 
on  the  wife,  and  after  the  proscribed  time,  post  constitutum 
tempus,  she  could  remarry  (D.  XLIX.  15.  8)  ;  (2)  in  case 
of  the  absence  of  the  father,  if  no  news  had  been  received 
from  him.  the  children  might  contract  a  marriage  after 
three  years  had  elapsed  (D.  XXIII.  2.  10,  11);  (3)  the 
wife  might  remarry  if  the  husband  had  been  absent  four 
years  for  military  service  and  she  had  been  unable  to  obtain 
information  about  him  (C.  V.  17.  7). 

The  approved  occupations  of  the  Roman  matron  are 
largely  summarized  by  the  formula  of  farewell  addressed 
to  her  by  her  husband — cura  rem  communem.^  These 
occupations  endured  in  greater  or  less  degree  even  with 
the  increase  of  luxury.  She  superintended  the  manage- 
ment of  the  household;'  occupied  herself  with  spinning 
and  weaving;  ^  nursed  her  children  or,  if  a  nurse  was  em-\ 
ployed,  at  least  shared  in  the  care  of  them  and  watched! 
over  their  education.*  At  meals  she  took  her  place  with 
her  husband,  sitting  not  reclining,^  and  was  often  given  an 

*  Plaut.  Stich.  145:  "curate  igitur  familiarem  remut potestis  optume"; 
ibid.  525;  Amph.  499:  "cura  rent  communem." 

'  Plaut.  Cas.  144:  "  obsignate  cellas,  referte  anulum  ad  me" ;  ibid.  261 : 
"  tne  sinas  curate  ancillas,  quae  mea  est  curatio";  Pcrs.  267;  Fabius 
Pictor  Graecae  Historiae  27,  Peter,  Hist.  Rom.  Rel.  vol.  i,  p.  39: 
"  Fabius  Pictor  in  annalibns  suis  scripsit  matronam,  quod  loculos,  in 
quibus  erant  claues  celiac  uinariae  resignauisset,  a  suis  inedia  mori 
coactam.'* 

'Plaut.  Men.  120-1,  Cas.  170-1,  Mil.  Glor.  686-9;  Ter.  Heaut.  293. 

*The  question  of  nurses  is  considered  in  detail  in  the  chapter  on 
"Children."  The  wife  of  Cato  nursed  her  children  herself  cf.  Plut. 
Cat.  maj.  20. 

'Decimus  Laberius  Compitalia  I  (2),  Ribb.  Frag.  Com.  p.  284: 
"mater  familias  tua  in  lecto  aducrso  sedet";  Plaut.  Amph.  804, 
Stich.  515. 


,2  SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME  [52 

active  part  in  his  affairs,  feeling  that  she  should  be  con- 
sulted on  all  matters  which  concerned  the  interests  of  the 
family  and  especially  the  marriage  of  their  children. 
While  it  was  not  customary  for  her  to  go  out  unaccom- 
panied nor  to  be  present  at  the  entertainments  of  men,  there 
was  a  certain  amount  of  visiting  among  friends  and  neigh- 
bors, and  she  might  also  attend  Religious  ceremonies,  solemn 
banquets,  and  public  spectacles.^ 

The  commonly  accepted  view  that  the  conventional  limi- 
tation of  the  Roman  matron's  sphere  of  interest  to  the 
household  necessarily  implied  a  position  much  inferior  to 
that  of  the  woman  of  to-day  is  a  view  which  must  be  to 
some  extent  modified.  The  Roman  household  and  its  affairs 
were  larger  and  more  varied  in  scope  than  are  the  modem. 
Many  more  articles  of  domestic  use  were  made  at  home, 
and  upon  the  matron,  as  has  been  said,  dex^eloped  the  super- 
intendence of  the  household  slaves  in  their  various  activities. 
A  realization  of  the  number  of  slaves  and  of  their  place  in 
Roman  society  and  industry  is  significant  as  an  evidence 
of  the  amount  of  responsibility  which  the  Romans  entrusted 

to  their  women. 

The  Roman  matron  was  treated  with  deference  by  every 
member  of  the  household,  and  the  slave,  male  or  female, 
who  was  impudent  to  her  in  any  way  did  not  go  unpunished.' 
The  comedies,  in  particular,  prove  the  general  prevalence 
of  this  attitude  of  respect,  for  although  they  ridicule  and 

^Influence  of  women   cf.   Plut.   Cat.   maj.  8;   Liv.   XXXIX.    11.   3» 

XXXVIII.  57.  7. 

2Plaut    Amph.   929:    '' iuhen'   mi  ire   comites";    Merc.   404,    Stick. 
1 13-4;  Naevius  Danae  VI  (3  inc.  com.  4)  8,  Ribb.  Frag.  Trag.  p.  7' 
•'  desubito  famam  tollunt,  si  quam  solam  uidere  in  wia."    Ter.  Eun.  626 
''in  conuiuium  illam?  "    Cato  Orat.  reliq.  XXXIX,  ed.  Jord.  pp.  56-7 
"  domo  . . .  egreditur  ad  ceteras  matronas."     Ter.  He^.  592  :  "  tuas  arnicas 
te  et  cognatas  deserere  et  festos  dies'';  Pol.  XXXII.  12. 

"  Plaut.  Men.  620,  et  seq. 


53] 


WOMEN  AND  MARRIAGE 


53 


satirize  all  classes  of  citizens  from  the  newly  emancipated! 
slaves   to  the  supposedly  dignified   senators,'   they  never  I 
reflect  in  any  way  upon  the  virtue  of  the  matron.'     Their 
characterizations,  moreover,  give  us  some  idea  of  her  es- 
sential traits,  and  in  practically  every  case— in  the  inde-j 
pendently   wealthy   matrons  of   the  Phormio   or   of   the' 
Meno£chmi  in  the  gentle  Sostrata  of  the  Hecyra,  in  the 
unjustly  accused  Alcmena  of  the  Amphitriw,  the  matron 
always  maintains  a  proper  sense  of  her  own  dignity  and  \ 
superiority.     Not  only  in  their  general  dehneation  of  her' 
but  also  in  specific  terms  the  comic  writers  emphasize  this 
fact.    Such  expressions  as  ''  matronali  pndore ''  and  ''  tmm 
maicstatem  et  noniinis  matronae  sanctitudimm"  are  con- 
clusive in  their  significance.* 

The  general  increase  of  wealth,  which  affected  practically 
every  phase  of  social  life  in  this  period,  inevitably  influenced 
the  character  and  position  of  women.  The  Oppian  law,  i 
passed  in  215  B.  C,  had  vainly  attempted  to  check  their  in- 
creasing tendency  towards  extravagance  and  display,  and 
after  its  repeal  in  195  B.  C.  the  Roman  women  began  more 
and  more  to  array  themselves  in  gorgeous  toilets,  to  wear 
an  abundance  of  rich  jewelry,  and  to  drive  through  the 
city  in  expensive  carriages.    They  employed  both  male  and 

» Ridicule  of  senators:  Fiaut.  Epid.  189,  Cas.  53^,  Asin.  871- 

« Cf.  Don.  ad  Ter.  Hec.  V.  2.  8. 

'Decimus  Laberius  Compitalia  II  (3).  Ribb.  Frag.  Com.  p.  285; 
Afranius  Suspecta  IX.  4,  Ribb.  Frag.  Com.  p.  206. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  Romans  did  not  desire  extreme 
beauty  in  their  wives.  Ennius  voices  this  preference  for  the  golden 
mean,  cf.  Melanippa  VI  (6),  Ribb.  Frag.  Trag.  p.  52:  Aul.  Cell.  V. 
II-  *' inter  enim  pulcherrimam  feminam  et  deformissimam  media  forma 
quaedam  est . . .  qualis  ab  Q.  Ennius  'in  Melanippa'  [sic  Rott.  Vat.] 
pcrquam  eleganti  uocabulo  stata  dicitur ...  Ennius  autem  m  ista  quam 
dixi  tragoedia  eas  fere  feminas  ait  incolumi  pudidtia  esse,  quae  stata 
forma  forent." 


54 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[54 


female  slaves  in  their  personal  service  and  required  a  long 
list  of  workmen  of  every  kind  to  satisfy  their  wants.  Styles 
in  dress  apparently  changed  almost  as  rapidly  and  were 
adopted  almost  as  eagerly  as  at  present.  Cato  is  of  course 
prejudiced  in  his  description  of  '' mulieres  opertae  auro 
purpuraque;  arsinea,  rete,  diadema,  coronas  aureas,  rusceas 
fascias,  galbeos  lineos,  pelles,  redimkida  '\  of  women  who 
*'  capilhim  cinere  xingiutant,  ut  rutilns  esset '' ,  but  others 
recogTiized  the  same  condition/  Consider  for  example 
one  of  the  speeches  found  in  Plautus : 

"  Ep.  sed  uestita,  aurata,  ornata  ut  lepide^  ut  concinne,  ut 

none! 
Pe.  quid  crat  indutaf  an  regillam  induculam  an  mendi- 

culamf 
Ep.  inipUiuiatam,  ut  is  face  faciunt  uesfimentis  nomina, 
Pe.   litin  implmiium  indtifa  fueritf  Ep.   q;nid  istiic  tarn 

mirahile  estf 
quasi  non  fundis  exornatae  multae  incedant  per  uias. 
at  tribtitus  qnom  ifnperatus  est,  negant  pendi  potis : 
illis  quibu  tributtis  maior  penditur,  pendi  potest, 
quid  istae  quae  uestei  quotannis  nomina  inueniunt  nouaf 
tunicam  rallam,  tunicam  spissam,  linteolum  caesiciiim, 
indusiatam,  patagiatani,  caltulam  aut  crocotulam, 
subparum  aut — subnimium,  ricafti,  basilictmt  aut  exoticum, 
cumatile    aut   plumatUe,    carinum    aut    cerinum — gerrae 

maxufnae! 

*  Oppian  law  cf.  Liv.  XXXIV.  i.  3.  *' ne  qua  mulier  plus  semunciam 
auri  haberet  nee  uestimento  uersicolori  uteretur,  neu  iuncto  uehiculo  in 
urbe  oppidoue  aut  propius  inde  millc  passus  nisi  sacrorum  publicorum 
causa  ueheretur"  Plaut.  MiL  Glor.  691-6,  AuL  167-9,  49^,  et  seq.,  Epid. 
222,  et  seq.,  Trin.  250-5.  Caecilius  Statius  Karine  I  (l),  II  (2),  Ribb. 
Frag.  Com.  p.  53.  Titinius  Barbatus  II  (8),  Ribb.  Frag.  Com.  p.  133. 
Liv.  XXXIX.  44.  2  on  the  censorship  of  Cato:  "  ornamenta  et  uestem 
fnuliebrem  et  uehicula,  quae  pluris  quam  quindecint  milium  aeris  essent, 
dcciens  pluris  in  censum  referre  iuratores  iussit."  Polyb.  XXXII.  12. 
Cato  Orig.  113,  114,  115,  Peter,  Hist,  Rom.  Rel.  vol.  i,  pp.  91-2. 


---j  WOMEN  AND  MARRIAGE  55 

cani  quoque  etia^n  ademptumst  nomen.  Pe.   qui?  Ep. 
uocant  Laconicum. 

haec  uocabula  auctiones  subigunt  ut  faciant  uiros"  {Epid, 
222-235). 

Many  of  the  Roman  women  interested  themselves  in  the 
emotional  foreign  cults.  This  condition  is  illustrated  by 
the  fact  that  the  Bacchanalia  on  their  introduction  to  Rome 

''  primo  sacrarium femifmrum  fuisse,  nee  queniquam 

eo  uirum  admitti  solitum."  ^  It  is  an  indication  of  the 
changing  position  of  women  that  at  this  time  statues  were 
set  up  in  the  provinces  to  Roman  women,  although  there 
was  conservative  protest  against  this.' 

As  the  main  object  of  marriage  was  the  perpetuation  of 
the  family  and  its  religion — sacrorum  familiaeque — both 
the  family  and  the  state  endeavored  to  encourage  it.'^ 
Praemia  patrum  are  mentioned  although  it  is  uncertain  of 
what  they  definitely  consisted,  and  in  168  B.  C.  libertini 
who  had  a  son  five  years  of  age  or  over,  were  given  certain 
political  privileges.* 

In  spite  of  this  official  attitude,  however,  repugnance  for 
the  constraint  of  marriage,  the  irresponsible  spirit  of  com- 
fort, the  solicitous  attentions  of  relatives  and  friends  who 
might  hope  to  receive  a  share  of  the  inheritance — all  these 

» Liv.  XXXIX.  13.  8. 

« Cato  Orat.  Cens.,  ed.  Jord.  p.  51 :  "  extant  Catonis  in  censura  uocir 
ferationes,  mulieribus  Romanis  in  prouinciis  statuas  poni." 

'Liv.  XLV.  40.  7:  "sacrorum  familiaeque."  Plaut.  Aul  14^50^: 
**  liberis  procreandis—  \  ita  di  faxint—uolo  te  uxorem  |  domum  ducere" 
cf.  Capt.  889,  Mil.  Glor.  682;  Ter.  Hec.  119;  Ennius  Andromeda  II 
(i),  Ribb.  Frag,  Trag.  p.  27,  Cresphontes  IV  (2),  Ribb.  Frag.  Trag. 
p.  30;  Plut.  Cat.  maj.  24;  "I  only  desire  to  leave  behind  me  more 
sons  of  my  race,  and  more  citizens  to  serve  the  state";  ibid.  16:  "none 
of  a  man's  actions,  his  marriage,  his  f  amily ...  ought  to  be  uncon- 
trolled." 

*Aul.  Cell.  V.  19.  15:  "praemia  patrum."    Liv.  XLV.  15.  i,  2. 


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SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[56 


considerations  combined  to  make  celibacy  desirable.  The 
growing  spirit  of  the  times  is  well  expressed  by  an  eligible 
bachelor  in  the  Miles  Gloriosus oi  Plautus,  who  says: 

My  house  is  free ;  I  too  am  free ;  I  want  to  enjoy  life.  Thanks 
to  my  own  riches  I  could  take  to  myself  a  wife  well-dowered 
and  of  noble  lineage,  but  I  don't  want  to  bring  a  barking  dog 
into  the  house.  ...  As  long  as  I  have  a  host  of  relatives,  what 
need  have  I  for  children?  Now  I  live  in  comfort  and  happi- 
ness, doing  just  as  I  please  and  following  my  own  inclinations. 
(Mil.  Glor.  678,  et  seq.) 


CHAPTER  III 

Children  and  Education 

(a)  children 

The  authority  of  the  head  of  the  house  over  his  children 
is  denoted  in  Plautus  most  frequently  by  imperium,  a  gen- 
eral term  which  is  applied  as  well  to  his  authority  over  his 
wife  and  over  the  slaves.     The  terms  patria  pot  est  as,  ius, 
patria  maiestas  are  also  used."     As  to  the  extent  of  this^ 
authority  Marquardt  states  that  at  Rome  the  natural  relaA" 
tion  of  the  physical  and  moral  dependence  of  children  upon\ 
the  father  is  pushed  to  extremes,  giving  the  father  the  abso- 
lute power  to  dispose  of  his  children  and  authorizing  him 
to  expose  them,  sell  them,  or  have  them  put  to  death.    The 
numerous  references  to  exposure  in  the  plays  of  this  period, 
however,  are  due  rather  to  the  conventional  type  of  plot 
of  the  Pdliatae,  which  hinged  so  often  on  the  loss  of  a 
child  and  the  subsequent  recognition  than  to  any  widespread 
practice.     While  the  absolute  power  of  the  father  over  his » 
children  was  recognized  as  legal,  it  was  mitigated  by  filial 
devotion  (pietas)  on  the  part  of  the  children  and  by  custom 
and  natural  affection  on  the  part  of  the  parents.    The  power 
of  life  and  death,  moreover,  was  limited  by  law,  and  in- 
stances of  the  exercise  of  this  power  during  the  later  Re- 

Umperium  over  children:  Plaut.  Stick.  141,  Pers.  343.  ^-ft"-  H7,  S09; 
Ter.  Heaut.  233,  Phorm.  232;  over  wife:  Plaut.  Asin.  87;  Ter.  Heaut. 
635;  over  sla^ves '."A^pJT^,  Men.  1030,  Capt.  3^,  True.  125;  patns 
potestas:  Stieh.  53,  69,  Pers.  344;  ius:  Asin.  147 \  Ter.  Hec.  243-4; 
maiestas:  iLiv.  XXIIL  8.  3. 

57]  ^ 


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[58 


public  are  explainable  on  religious  grounds,  or  as  an 
anticipation  of  an  ordinary  legal  penalty.^ 

The  adopted  son  held  the  same  position  as  the  son  by 
birth.  He  had  the  same  right  of  inheritance  and  stood  in 
the  same  position  of  relationship  to  the  family  into  which 
he  had  been  taken.  He  ceased  to  be  a  member  of  the  family 
into  which  he  had  been  born,  and  had  towards  it  no  obliga- 
tions, such,  for  example,  as  the  continuance  of  its  religious 
rites. ^  In  spite  of  this  legal  exemption  from  obligation, 
however,  the  son  who  had  been  given  in  adoption  might 
very  naturally  continue  to  feel  bound  by  ties  of  affection  to 
his  parents  by  birth. ^ 

Paternal  authority  was  first  exercised  immediately  after 
the  birth  of  the  child.  The  infant  was  laid  at  the  father*s 
feet,  and  if  he  took  it  up  {tollere,  suscipere),  he  acknowl- 
edged it  as  his.     There  is  a  suggestion  that  in  case  of  the 

1  Marquardt,  Vie  privee  des  R.,  vol.  i,  p.  3.  Plaut.  Stick.  72:  "aduorsari 
sine  dedecore  et  scelere  sumnio  hau  possumus"  cf.  Asin.  509,  Stick.  53; 
Ter.  And.  262.  Plaut.  Cas.  262-3  •  "  ^^io  . . .  opitulari  uniro  "  ;  Ter.  Hec. 
244:  ''  patrio  animo  uictus."  The  right  of  exposure  was  limited  from 
earliest  times  cf.  Dion.  II.  15,  but  by  the  law  of  the  XII  Tables  every 
misformed  child  was  put  to  death  cf.  Cic.  de  Leg.  III.  8.  19.  Abortions 
thrown  into  the  sea  as  they  were  believed  to  be  ill-omens :  Liv.  XXVII. 
37.  5-6,  XXXI.  12.  8;  persons  implicated  in  a  conspiracy  against  the 
state,  who  were  put  to  death  by  their  families:  Dio  XXXVII.  36 
(63  B.  C). 

On  the  extent  of  the  patria  potestas  cf.  Sohm,  op.  cit.,  pp.  482-3, 
Girard,  op.  cit.,  p.  137,  et  seq.,  who  says :  "  L'unite  d' existence  et 
d'autorite  qu'elle  implique  dans  la  famille  peut  convenir  a  un  fitat  petit 
et  pauvre,  a  une  population  respectueuse  de  ses  traditions,  depourvue 
d'esprit  critique  et  d'esprit  d'entreprise.  Or,  a  Rome,  ces  conditions 
avaient  disparu  longtemps  avant  la  fin  de  la  Republique." 

'Liv.  XLV.  40.  7,  41.  12;  Plaut.  Poen.  76-7:  "  eumque  adoptat  sibi 
pro  alio  I  eutnque  keredetn  fecit."  Aul.  Gell.  V.  19.  15:  "  animaduerti- 
mus  in  oratione  P.  Scipionis, ..  .inter  ea  quae  reprehendebat,  quod 
contra  maiorum  instituta  Herent,  id  etiam  eum  culpauisse,  quod  Hlius 
ctdoptiuos  patri  adoptatori  inter  praemia  patrum  prodesset." 

'Polyb.  XXXII.  12. 


59] 


CHILDREN  AND  EDUCATION 


59 


absence  of  the  husband,  the  authority  might  be  delegated 
to  his  wife.^  If  acknowledgment  waJ  refused,  the  child 
was  exposed,  that  is,  handed  over  to  a  slave  who  took  it 
from  the  house  and  abandoned  it.  The  future  of  a  child 
thus  exposed  was  uncertain — it  might  die,  or  if  found  and 
raised,  would  probably  become  a  slave.  Sometimes  small 
articles  of  jewelry,  crepundia,  were  left  with  the  child,  by 
which  it  might  later  be  identified.  Such  objects  were  some- 
times called  monumenta.^ 

The  first  week  of  the  child's  life  was  marked  by  certain 
domestic  rites  in  honor  of  Juno  Lucina.  A  sacrifice  is 
mentioned  in  Plautus  on  the  fifth  day  after  birth,  but  this 
is  possibly  a  reference  to  the  Greek  rite  d^<^i8pd/xia,  which 
took  place  on  the  fifth  day  and  was  the  occasion  of  the 
naming  of  the  child,  corresponding  in  this  to  the  Roman 
dies  lustricus.,  the  ninth  day  after  birth  for  a  boy,  the  eighth 

for  a  girl.^ 

Early  in  the  life  of  the  child — according  to  Ussing,  on 
the  first  birthday  (cf.  Plautus,  Rudens  117O—  the  bulla 
was  presented  to  the  child  by  the  father.  This  ornament 
was  for  a  long  time  the  mark  of  paeri  ingenui,  but  at  the 
time  of  the  second  Punic  War  the  children  of  freedmen 
obtained  the  right  to  wear  one  of  leather.*  The  bulla  was 
a  round  medallion  hung  around  the  neck.    Marquardt  states 

^  Ter.  And.  401 ;  Plaut.  Amph.  501 :  "  quod  erit  natum,  tollito" 

'Plaut.  Cist.  123-4,  166,  635-6,  Cas.  40-6;  Ter.  Heaut.  614-5,  640: 
"uel  uti  quaestum  faceret  uel  uti  ueniret  palam" ;  Plaut.  Rud.  390: 
"qui  suos  parentes  noscere  posset")  Ter.  Eun.  753:  " monumenta". 

'Plaut.  True.  476:  "  ignem  in  aram,  ut  uenerem  Lucinam";  ibid. 
423-4:  "  dis  kodie  sacruHcare  pro  puero  nolo  |  quinto  die  quod  iieri 
oportet." 

*  Ussing,  Erziehung  und  Jugendunterrickt  (Berlin,  1885),  p.  45^/- 
Plaut.  Rud.  1171:  ''bulla  aurea  est  pater  quam  dedit  mi  natali  die." 
Macrob.  Sat.  I.  6.  8,  et  seq.;  Liv.  XXVI.  36.  5:  "  ^'»o  bullam'\  re- 
ferring to  the  bulla  aurea  of  the  children  of  senators. 


6o 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[60 


61] 


CHILDREN  AND  EDUCATION 


61 


that  it  might  also  be  in  the  shape  of  a  heart,  citing  from 
Macrobius,  Sat.  I.  6.  17,  the  words  cordis  figurant.  The 
sentence  of  Macrobius  taken  as  a  whole,  ''  cordis  figurant  in 
bulla  ante  pectus  adnecterent/'  does  not  seem  to  indicate 
this  positively,  as  the  usual  expression  to  denote  the  mean- 
ing adopted  by  Marquardt  would  be  bullam  cordis  Hgura.^ 
In  general  boys  wore  the  bulla  until  the  assumption  of  the 
toga  uirilis  and  girls  until  their  marriage,  but  in  one  case  in 
Plautus  the  bulla  aurea  of  the  girl,  although  preserved,  was 
not  worn  but  laid  aside  with  the  childish  crepundia.'' 

The  crepundia  were  little  metal  trinkets  strung  together 
and  hung  around  the  neck  of  the  child.  Plautus  describes 
a  typical  collection  of  such  miniature  objects:  a  gold  sword 
with  the  name  of  the  father,  a  gold  double-axe  with  the 
name  of  the  mother,  a  silver  sickle,  two  clasped  hands,  a  pig. 
These  crepundia  were  presented  to  the  child  by  members  of 
the  household  and  by  the  household  slaves.  They  served 
as  a  protection  against  fascinatio  (Ussing  points  out  in 
the  ''  sicilicula  argenteola"  a  resemblance  in  form  to  the 
crescent,  and  Plautus  in  the  Epidicus  mentions  a  lunida, 
evidently  a  half-moon  shaped  amulet,  given  to  the  child  by 
one  of  the  slaves  of  the  household),  and  as  a  means  of 
identification  if  the  child  were  lost  or  stolen.^  They  were 
further  useful  as  a  plaything — a  kind  of  rattle. 

The  old  Roman  custom  of  the  nursing  and  care  of  the 
infant  by  the  mother  still  continued  in  some  cases.*  In  this 
p>eriod,  however,  we  already  find  reference  to  the  employ- 
ment of  nurses,  a  custom  which  had  become  general  by  the 

*  Marquardt,  Vie  privee  des  R.,  vol.  i,  p.  icx). 
'Plaut.  Rud.  1154,  cf.  1171. 

*  Plaut.  Mil.  Glor.  1399 :  "  quasi  puero  in  collo  pendant  crepundia " 
cf.  Rud.  1081;  list  of  crepundia:  ibid.  1154,  et  seq.;  Ussing  op.  cit., 
p.  43  cf.  ed.  Plaut.  Rud.  1156  n.,  Oxford  ed.  1169  cf.  Epid.  640. 

*  Plut.  Cat.  maj.  20. 


time  of  Cicero. '  Marquardt  states  that  the  nurse  was 
usually  a  woman  of  free  status  belonging  to  the  family, 
but  in  some  cases  in  Plautus  and  Terence  the  nurse  {nutrex) 
is  a  slave  (ancilla),  and  in  others  is  evidently  not  from  the 
household  but  summoned  from  outside.^  The  name  ^nater 
was  sometimes  given  to  the  nutrex,  apparently  from  affec- 
tion, and  in  the  Mercator  the  micilla  refers  to  her  young 
master  as  ''  erus  atque  alumnus.''  ^  Even  when  there  was 
a  nurse,  the  mother  assisted  in  the  care  of  the  child.*  The 
child  was  rocked  in  a  cradle  {cunae)."" 

There  is  little  information  about  the  amusements  and 
playthings  of  the  children.  The  crepundia  have  already 
been  mentioned.  There  were  in  addition  various  sports 
and  pastimes,  such  as  games  of  ball,  walking  on  stilts 
{grdlae),  playing  horse,  and  the  like.  Pets  were  more 
common  than  at  present,  especially  dogs  and  various  kinds 
of  birds.* 

1  Plaut.  Men.  19-21 :  "  uti  mater  sua  \  non  internosse  posset,  quae 
mammam  dabat,  |  neque  adeo  mater  ipsa  quae  illos  peperat "  cf.  Cic. 
Tusc.  III.  I.  2:  "  ut  paene  cum  lacte  nutricis  errorem  suxisse  uideamur." 

2  Marquardt,  Vie  privee  des  R.,  vol.  i,  p.  106  cf.  nutrex  a  slave: 
Plaut.  Merc.  509,  809,  Poen.  1130  cf.  Tac.  Dial.  29:  '' natus  infans  dele- 
gatur  Graeculae  alicui  ancillaer  which  would  seem  to  indicate  that  m 
a  later  period  as  well  the  nutrex  was  not  of  free  condition  but  a 
slave;  nutrex  summoned  from  outside:  Plaut.  Truc.^  903;  Ter.  Hec. 
72G:  "  immo  uero  abi,  aliquam  puero  nutricem  para." 

*  Mater:  Plaut.  Men.  19,  Merc.  809. 

*  Plaut.  True.  902-3 :  "  matri  autem  quae  puerum  lauit  \  opu  nutna, 
lacf  ut  habeat." 

5  Plaut.  Pseud.  U77,  Amph.  1107,  True.  905- 

«  Plaut  Bacc.  428:  pila;  Poen.  530:  '' gralatorem  gradu";  Asin.  700, 
et  seq. :  the  master  carries  the  slave  on  his  back  ''  ut  consuetus  es  puer 
olim";  Capt.  1002-3:  ''quasi  patriciis  pueris  aut  monerulae  \  aut  anttes 
aut  coturnices  dantur,  quicum  lusitent."  Dogs:  Plaut.  Most.  849;  Ter. 
And.  56-7;  Plut.  A  em.  Paul.  6. 


62 


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(b)    GENERAL   EDUCATION 


[62 


The  period  under  discussion  marks  a  new  phase  in  the 
history  of  Roman  education.  Marquardt  states  that  up 
to  approximately  150  B.  C.  it  is  possible  to  "  grasp  the  real 
originality  of  the  old  system  of  education  which  is  half 
effaced  later  .  .  .  the  system  of  education  confided  with- 
out reserv^e  to  the  family,"  ^  but  it  is  evident  that  the 
change  had  begun  at  a  much  earlier  date.  Wealthy  families 
of  the  third  century  were  already  entrusting  to  Greek  slaves 
a  part  in  the  education  of  their  children.  Before  240  B.  C. 
Andronicus,  who  had  been  among  the  prisoners  from 
Tarentum  in  2y2  B.  C,  received  his  liberty  from  his  master 
Livius  because  of  his  excellent  qualities  in  instructing  his 
master's  children.  Before  the  end  of  the  century  (after 
22^  I  B.  C. )  the  first  school  at  Rome,  according  to  Plutarch, 
was  opened  by  Spurius  Carvilius,  a  freedman.^ 

Ussing  modifies  the  statement  of  Plutarch  by  the  expla- 
nation that  this  Carvilius  was  doubtless  the  first  teacher 
whose  name  was  known,  and  considers  that  schools  existed 
at  Rome  long  before.  He  bases  his  conclusion  (i)  on 
the  references  in  Livy  III.  44.  6  (449  B.  C.  ),  V.  2y.  i  (394 
B.  C),  and  Dion.  XL  28;  (2)  and  in  his  opinion  more  con- 

*  Marquardt,  Vie  privee  des  R.,  vol.  i,  p.  97. 

*Suet.  de  Poetis,  ed.  Roth,  p.  291.  The  first  dramatic  work  of  Livius 
was  produced  in  240  B.  C,  when  he  was  apparently  free.  Plut.  Q.  R. 
59.  Livius  Andronicus  also  founded  a  school  cf.  Suet,  de  Gram,  i, 
and  it  is  uncertain  whether  this  school  or  that  of  Carvilius  was  actu- 
ally the  first.  The  exact  date  of  the  school  of  Carvilius  cannot  be 
determined,  but  as  Sp.  Carvilius  received  his  divorce  in  231  B.  C. 
(Aul.  Gell.  IV.  3.  I,  2  cf.  XVII.  21.  44),  probably  it  was  in  the  third 
quarter  of  the  century.  If  that  of  Carvilius  was  the  first,  Livius  must 
have  waited  for  some  time  after  his  emancipation.  The  Romans  and 
the  Greeks  may  very  probably  have  had  no  absolute  means  of  deter- 
mining the  question,  and  in  any  case  the  schools  date  from  practically 
the  same  time. 


63] 


CHILDREN  AND  EDUCATION 


63 


clusively,  on  the  previous  existence  in  Rome  of  written  laws. 
Marquardt  also  uses  these  arguments  as  a  contradiction 
of  the  hypothesis  that  there  were  no  schools  in  Rome  till 
Carvilius.^  The  existence  of  written  laws,  however,  would 
not  by  itself  prove  the  existence  of  liidi  litterarii,  primary 
schools,  as  a  knowledge  of  writing  might  be  acquired  in 
other  ways.  The  references  in  Livy  cannot  be  accepted 
as  conclusive;  the  chief  source  of  information  for  this  early 
period,  the  pontifical  annals,  give  only  a  bare  record  of 
events.  It  is  more  probable  that  Livy,  filling  in  the  details, 
introduced  in  his  mention  of  the  ludus  litterarum  an  institu- 
tion of  a  later  period. 

By  the  early  part  of  the  second  century  B.  C.  the  custom 
of  employing  educated  slaves  as  instructors  for  the  young 
had  become  common  enough  so  that  a  slave  or  freedman 
opening  such  a  school  was  sure  of  pupils.  Some  of  the 
more  conservative,  however,  still  preferred  to  instruct  their 
children  directly,  recognizing  the  undesirable  features  of 
the  subordination  of  their  sons  to  men  of  a  lower  order. 
A  person  having  such  a  slave  in  his  household,  whether 
or  not  he  desired  him  as  instructor  for  his  own  children, 
could  profitably  rent  out  the  slave's  services  as  instructor 
to  the  children  of  others.^ 

If  the  time  of  the  father  was  occupied  to  a  large  extent 
by  public  affairs  or  business  matters,  the  instruction  which 
he  was  able  to  give  to  his  sons  might  be  supplemented  by 
lessons  from  slaves  of  the  requisite  learning.^     The  early 


^Ussing,  Erziehung  u.  JugendunterrUht,  p.  lOO;  Marquardt,  Vie 
privee  des  R.,  vol.  i,  p.  109,  n.  4,  p.  iii,  n.  i. 

'Plut.  Cat.  maj.  20:  Cato  kept  at  his  house  a  grammarian  slave, 
Chilon,  who  instructed  the  children  of  other  citizens  for  a  salary  re- 
ceived by  his  master,  although  Cato  himself  supervised  the  education 
of  his  own  son;  cf.  Plaut.  Pseud.  446:  ''hie  mihi  corrumpit  fiUurn." 

'  Plut.  A  em.  Paul.  6. 


64 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


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65] 


CHILDREN  AND  EDUCATION 


65 


instruction  of  the  child,  therefore,  might  be  given  (i)  at 
home  directly  by  the  parents,  (2)  at  home  by  a  slave  of 
the  household,  (3)  in  a  private  school  conducted  by  a  slave 
or  freedman. 

The  education  of  the  child  began  formally  at  the  age  of 
seven/  The  essential  elements  of  the  instruction  imparted 
to  the  child  by  the  parents  are  summed  up  by  Plautus  in  the 
words  ''  parentes  .  .  .  litteras,  iura^,  leges  docent'\  and 
this  corresponds  closely  with  the  system  followed  by  Cato.' 
Children  still  learned  by  heart  the  XII  Tables,  a  custom 
which  fell  into  disuse  in  the  time  of  Cicero.^  There  was 
no  systematic  study  of  history,  but  the  children  were  taught 
the  illustrious  deeds  of  the  family  to  which  they  belonged, 
and  in  this  way  acquired  some  knowledge  of  the  history 
of  Rome.* 

The  instruction  in  the  primary  schools  was  naturally 
along  much  the  same  lines  as  that  given  by  the  parents. 
That  their  chief  task  was  to  teach  the  alphabet  and  its  uses 
— reading  and  writing — is  shown  by  the  names  applied  to 
the  school,  Indus  Utterarius  or  litterarum,  and  to  the  in- 
structor, who  was  called  Utterator.     Instruction  was  also 

*  Plaut.  Poen.  66 :  "  puer . . .  septuennis  " ;  Merc.  292,  303,  Bacc.  440. 

*  Plaut.  Most.  126  cf.  Plut.  Cat.  maj.  20. 

*Cic.  de  Leg.  11.  23.  59:  "  discebamus  enim  pueri  XII,  ut  carmen 
necessarium,  quas  iam  nemo  discit.** 

*  Plut.  Cat.  maj.  20.  Cicero  Brut.  XIX.  75,  Tusc.  I.  2.  3,  speaks  of 
songs  which  the  Romans  were  accustomed  to  sing  at  banquets  in  praise 
of  their  famous  ancestors,  a  practise  which  was  dropped  between  Cato 
and  Cicero.  Doubtless  there  were  such  songs  in  praise  of  ancestors, 
but  judging  from  other  songs  composed  by  the  Romans,  they  were 
probably  vague  and  general  in  character  so  that  the  same  songs  could 
be  used  to  apply  to  anyone  who  had  been  brave.  If  in  the  time  of 
Cato  there  had  been  any  songs  in  praise  of  specific  families,  they  would 
not  have  been  allowed  to  die  out;  cf.  Varro,  ap.  Non  s.  v.  assa  uoce, 
ed.  Lindsay,  vol.  i,  pp.  107-8. 


given  in  rudimentary  arithmetic  The  lessons  were  done 
on  wax  tablets.^ 

During  this  period  Roman  education  was  broadened  by 
the  introduction  of  music  and  dancing.  Although  these 
accomplishments  were  still  regarded  by  the  most  conserva- 
tive as  unbecoming,  instruction  in  them  was  not  limited  to 
people  of  the  lower  class.  Even  citizens  of  high  rank  began 
to  have  their  children  so  trained.  Macrobius  describes  a 
dancing  school  of  more  than  fifty  boys  and  girls,  and  this 
school  was  probably  not  excq>tional,  as  young  girls  of 
aristocratic  family  continued  to  receive  similar  instruction.^ 

In  addition  to  his  intellectual  training  the  Roman  youth 
was  trained  from  early  boyhood  in  bodily  exercises:  hurl- 
ing the  javelin,  boxing,  swimming,  and  riding.^  The 
Romans,  however,  never  regarded  gymnastic  exercises  as 
seriously  as  did  the  Greeks.  Scipio,  while  he  was  in  Sicily, 
preparing  his  expedition  against  Carthage,  entered  the 
gymnasium  of  Syracuse  in  Greek  dress  and  took  part  in 
the  exercises  of  the  palaestra;  but  many  Romans  were 
scandalized,  and  these  actions  were  later  brought  up  as 
accusations  against  him.*  Athletic  games  are  mentioned 
for  the  first  time  in  186  B.  C.® 

With  the  development  of   schools,  the  custom  of   the 

*  Plaut.  Pers.  173:  *' si  in  ludum  iret,  potuisset  iam  fieri  ut  probe 
litteras  sciret "  cf.  ibid.  187 :  "  si  scis  tute  quot  hodie  habeas  digitos  in 
manu";  Merc.  303:  "ludum  litterarium" ;  Bacc.  441:  "tabula";  Suet. 
de  Gram.  4:  *'  Utterator". 

•Macrob.  III.  14.  4-7;  Sallust  Cat.  25:  Sempronia,  the  mother  of 
D.  Brutus,  is  described  as  "  litteris  Graecis  et  Latinis  docta,  psallere 
et  saltare  elegantius  quam  necesse  est  probae,  multa  alia  quae  instru- 
menta  luxuriae  sunt." 

'  Plut.  Cat.  maj.  20. 

*Cic.  de  Rep.  IV.  4:  "  iuventutis  uero  exercitatio  quam  absurda  in 
gymnasiis."    Liv.  XXIX.  19.  12,  XXXVIII.  51.  L 

5Liv.  XXXIX.  22.  2:  "  atliletarum  quoque  certamen  turn  primo 
Romanis  spectaculo  fuit." 


u\i 


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SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[66 


paedagogiis  was  introduced,  a  slave  who  accompanied  the 
child  to  class  and  was  present  at  the  lessons.  Plautus  speaks 
of  the  paedagogus  continuing  his  office  until  the  boy  reached 
the  age  of  twenty,  but  this  is  probably  an  exaggeration  even 
for  Greek  education.  The  functions  of  the  paedagogus 
probably  ceased  at  the  assumption  of  the  toga  liirilis} 

The  change  from  the  toga  praetexta  to  the  toga  idrilis 
took  place  at  the- age  of  seventeen.  The  youth  might  begin 
his  military  career  before  that  time.  In  216  B.  C.  and  in 
212  B.  C.  the  enrollment  of  boys  under  seventeen  is  men- 
tioned, and  later  the  proposed  legislation  of  C.  Gracchus  in- 
cluded the  exemption  of  youths  under  seventeen  from  being 
drafted  for  the  army.""  The  lex  Plaetoria  apparently  first 
established  the  distinction  between  minority  and  majority. 
This  law  protected  minors  up  to  the  age  of  twenty-five,  and 
gave  them  relief  from  any  juristic  act  which  they  had  con- 
cluded under  the  influence  of  fraud.  ^ 

^Paedagogus:  Plaut.  Bacc.  138,  Pers.  447,  Merc.  gi\  Ter.  Phorm.  144- 
Plaut.  Bacc.  422-3 :  "  nego  tibi  hoc  annis  uiginti  fuisse  pritnis  copiae,  \ 
digitum  longe  a  paedagogo  pedem  ut  ecferres  aedihus.** 

'Liv.  XXII.  57.  9:  '' iuniores  ah  septendecem  et  quosdam  praetex- 
tatos  scribunt";  ibid.  XXV.  5.  8:  '*  qui  minores  septendecem  annis 
Sacramento  dixissent  iis  perinde  stipendia  procederent,  ac  si  septen- 
decem annorum  aut  maiores  milites  facti  essent"  \  Polyb.  X.  3:  "He 
[Publius  Scipio]  was  then  ...  eighteen  years  old  and  on  his  first  cam- 
paign." Plut.  C.  Grace.  5,  Flamin.  i :  "  young  men  learned  how  to 
act  as  officers  not  by  theory  but  by  actual  service  in  the  field." 

'Plaut.  Rud.  1380-2,  Pseud.  303-4:  *' annorum  lex  me  perdit  quinaui- 
cenaria.  \  metuont  credere  omnes."  The  lex  Plaetoria  was  passed  before 
192  B.  C,  as  that  is  the  year  in  which  the  Pseudolus  was  presented. 
Karlowa,  op.  cit.,  vol.  ii,  pp.  306-8,  discusses  the  probable  date  of  the 
law,  and  reaches  the  conclusion  that  it  apparently  does  not  much 
antedate  192  B.  C.  He  points  out  that  with  the  incoming  of  Hellenic 
customs  and  the  consequent  change  in  social  conditions  at  Rome,  the 
inexperience  of  youths  was  more  frequently  taken  advantage  of,  and 
moreover  in  a  period  of  long  continued  warfare,  it  might  often  be  the 
case  that  young  men  who  had  reached  or  even  passed  their  twentieth 
birthday,  and  were  veteran  soldiers,  in  view  of  the  long  duration  of 
their  military  activity,  were  still  very  inexperienced  in  civil  affairs. 
Cf.  Sohm.  op.  cit.,  pp.  294-5,  Girard,  op.  cit.,  pp.  229-30. 


67] 


CHILDREN  AND  EDUCATION 


67 


After  the  assumption  of  the  toga  uirilis  various  fields  of 
interest  were  open  to  the  youth.  He  might  carry  on  his 
studies  with  a  view  to  practising  at  the  bar;  he  might  enter 
military  life  as  a  tribune;  he  might  be  entrusted  with  busi- 
ness enterprises  and  transactions  as  the  representative  of 
his  father  or  independently.^  Either  as  a  direct  gift  from 
the  father  or  through  the  profits  of  his  business  affairs  the 
son  might  acquire  a  peculium,  private  property,^  but  legally 
this  was  held  only  with  the  consent  of  the  father. 

(c)    HIGHER   EDUCATION — CULTURAL   STUDIES 

In  some  cases  the  youth  might  desire  to  carry  his  studies 
further  as  Roman  education  was  gradually  becoming  more 
cultural.  The  translation  of  the  Odyssey  by  Livius  An- 
dronicus  dates  the  beginning  of  Roman  poetry.  Both 
Livius  and  Ennius  introduced  into  the  general  education 
the  study  and  interpretation  of  Greek  literary  works,  and 
the  reading  and  explanation  of  their  own  compositions, 
and  their  example  was  followed  by  others.  The  first 
grammarian  to  give  real  lessons  was  Crates  of  Mallos,  the 
ambassador  of  Attains  (between  160  and  150  B.  C). 
Strabo  calls  Crates  the  foremost  of  the  grammarians,  the 
word  being  used  in  a  large  sense  to  mean  literary  critic. 
In  this  respect  Crates  continued  the  work  of  Ennius,  and 
his  teachings  inspired  wide  imitation.® 

*  Plut.  Aem.  Paul.  2;  Polyb.  XXXH.  9:  "I  [Scipio  Aemilianus]  am 
considered  . . .  far  removed  from  the  true  Roman  character  and  ways, 
because  I  don't  care  for  pleading  in  the  law  courts."  Plut.  Flamin. 
I.  Plaut.  Most.  1016-7:  "me  apsente  hie  tecum  filius  \  negoti  gessit'*; 
Merc.  11:  "pater  ad  mercatum  hinc  me  meus  misit";  Bacc.  249-50. 

'  Plaut.  Capt.  19-20,  Merc.  96-7:  the  son,  receiving  a  price  above  what 
he  is  to  give  to  his  father,  says  "  peculium  \  conHcio  grande." 

'Suet,  de  Gram,  i,  2:  "primus  igitur  quantum  opinamur  studium 
grammaticae  in  urbem  intulit  Crates  Mallotes . . .  nostris  exemplo  fuit 
M,d  imitandum  ",  rf.  Strabo  I.  2.  24. 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[68 


68 

In  the  case  of  a  family  of  sufficient  wealth  the  whole 
education  of  the  son  might  be  conducted  at  home.  This 
was  true  of  Aemilius  Paulus,  who  "  provided  his  children 
with  grammarians,  sophists,  and  rhetors,  surrounded  them 
with  sculptors,  painters,  hairdressers,  and  hunting-masters, 
all  Greek",  and  to  complete  their  instruction  asked  the 
Athenians  to  send  him  the  most  esteemed  philosopher  of 

their  city/ 

The  same  Aemilius  Paulus,  in  bringing  home  the  books 

of  Perseus,  established  the  first  private  library  in  Rome. 

Plautus  indicates  that  in  this  period  few  if  any  libraries 

were  at  the  disposal  of  a  writer.^    At  the  beginning  of  the 

century  histor>^  was  still  written  in  Greek.    Both  Q.  Fabius 

Pictor  and  L.  Cincius  Alimentus  used  that  language,  and 

the  first  history  to  be  written  in  Latin  was  the  Origines  of 

Cato. 

The  knowledge  of  philosophy  at  Rome  was  diffused  in 
various  ways.     Indirectly  it  was  made  known  through  the 
theatre,    which    familiarized   the   people   with   philosophic 
maxims  and  beliefs— for  example  Plautus  by   the  wordsi 
•    ''  qtios  pol  ego  credo  hiimanas  querimonias  non  tanti  facere, 
t    quid  uelint,  quid  nan  uelinf'   {Merc.   6-7),   suggests  the 
Epicurean  theory  which  considered  the  gods  sublimely  in- 
different to  the  affairs  of  men,  and  Terence  by  the  words 
''homo  sum:  humani  nil  a  me  alienum  piito"    (Heaut. 
77),  suggests  the  Stoic  idea  of  universal  brotherhood.' 

iPlut.  Aem.  Paul.  6. 

'Plut.  Aem.  Paul.  28;  Plaut.  Men.  247-8:  "  quin  nos  hinc  domum  \ 
redimus  nisi  si  historiam  scrip turi  sumus." 
*Cf.  Pacuvius  Ex  Incert.  Fab.  XIV   {Herm.  2),  Ribb.  Frag.  Trag. 

pp.  124-6: 

"  Fortunam  insanam  esse  et  caecam  et  brutatn  perhibent  philosophi, 
Saxoque  instare  in  globoso  praedicant  uolubilei. 
[Quia  quo  id  saxum  inpulerit  fors,  eo  cadere  Fortunam  autumant.] 
Insanam  autem  esse  aiunt,  quia  atrox  incerta  instabilisque  sit: 


693 


CHILDREN  AND  EDUCATION 


69 


An  effort  was  made  to  check  the  spread  of  the  new  beliefs 
by  the  expulsion  in  173  B.  C.  of  the  Epicureans  Alcius  and 
Philiscus,  but  professors  of  all  kinds  continued  to  come  in, 
and  in  161  B.  C.  the  Senate  was  obliged  to  pass  a  new 
senatus  considtum  against  them.^  Such  an  edict  was  diffi- 
cult to  enforce.  It  might  be  possible  to  expel  some  of  the 
teachers,  but  the  edict  could  not  be  carried  out  in  the  case 
of  Greeks  like  Polybius  who  were  living  as  preceptors  or 
friends  in  the  households  of  wealthy  and  influential  fami- 
lies,^ or  in  the  case  of  ambassadors. 

The  ambassadors,  besides  their  special  mission,  spoke  in 
public  on  the  studies  in  which  they  were  interested.  Examples 
are  Astyamedes,  the  ambassador  of  the  Rhodians,  a  rhetor 
who  published  his  discourses ; '  Crates  of  Mallos,  the  gram- 
marian sent  by  Attains  II;*  the  philosophers  Carneades, 
Diogenes,  and  Critolaus,  sent  as  an  embassy  by  the  Athe- 
nians in   155  B.  C.,  who  organized  lectures  while  waiting 

Caecam  ob  eam  rem  esse  iterant,  quia  nil  cernant  quo  scse  adplicet: 
Brutam,  quia  dignum  atque  indignum  nequeat  internoscere. 
Sunt  autem  alii  philosophi,  qui  contra  Fortunam  negant 
Esse  ullam,  sed  temeritate  res  regi  omnis  autumant. 
Id  magis  ueri  simile  esse  usus  re  apse  experiundo  edoret: 
Velut  Orestes  modo  juit  rex,  factus  mendicus  modo." 
^Athenaeus  XII.  68.  Aul.  Cell.  XV.  n  gives  the  substance  of  this 
decree. 

'Polyb.  XXXII.  9:  "the  sons  of  L.  AemiHus  Paulus  exerted  all  their 
influence  with  the  praetor  that  Polybius  might  be  allowed  to  remain 
in  Rome.    This  was  granted." 
»  Polyb.  XXX.  4. 

*  The  exact  date  at  which  Crates  of  Mallos  came  to  Rome  is  uncer- 
tain. Suet,  de  Gram.  2  says  the  year  of  the  death  of  Ennius,  but  ac- 
cording to  Cicero  (Brut.  XX.  78)  Ennius  died  169  B.  C,  and  Attalus 
II  did  not  become  king  until  159  B.  C.  The  acceptance  of  this  year 
as  the  date  of  the  embassy  is  plausible,  (i)  as  it  would  be  natural  for 
Attalus  to  send  an  embassy  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  (2)  as  this 
year  places  the  date  of  the  embassy  as  close  as  possible  to  that  of  the 
death  of  Ennius. 


JO 


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71] 


CHILDREN  AND  EDUCATION 


71 


for  their  audience  with  the  Senate.  These  lectures  were 
very  successful,  and  people  crowded  to  hear  them/  While 
Terence  does  not  give  philosophy  a  high  rank  as  a  serious 
study,  classing  it  with  the  breeding  of  horses  and  of  hunt- 
ing-dogs as  a  fad  of  youth,  still  prominent  Romans  were 
interested  in  the  new  teachings.  When  the  Greek  embassy 
was  to  appear  before  the  Senate,  an  important  citizen,  C. 
Acilius,  sought  as  an  honor  the  privilege  of  serving  as  in- 
terpreter. Cato  strongly  opposed  this  teaching  of  Greek 
philosophy  at  Rome,  but  in  doing  so,  it  was  not  so  much 
the  theories  themselves  which  he  objected  to,  as  the  intro- 
duction into  Rome  of  an  interest  in  rhetoric  and  philosophy, 
studies  which  he  regarded  with  disfavor.  It  was  largely 
due  to  his  efforts  that  Carneades  and  his  colleagues  were 
finally  sent  back  to  Greece.^ 

The  Athenian  embassy  represented  three  different  schools 
of  philosophy — ''  Carneades  ex  Academia,  Diogenes  Stoicxis, 
Critolaus  Peripateticus" ,  but  the  teachings  of  Carneades 
w^ere  especially  popular.  The  success  of  his  doctrines  at 
Rome,  moreover,  was  not  merely  temporary.  Clitomachus, 
the  friend  and  successor  of  Carneades,  dedicated  two  books 
to  Lucilius  and  to  the  consul  L.  Censorinus.^  The  Stoics 
at  Rome  w^ere  especially  represented  by  Panaetius,  the  pupil 
of  Crates  of  Mallos.  The  success  of  the  Stoic  school  isi 
marked  in  the  circle  of  Scipio  Aemilianus.  Laelius  in  par- 
ticular followed  the  lessons  of  Diogenes,  the  colleague  of 

*  Gell.  VI  (VII).  14:  the  Athenian  embassy  was  sent  to  reduce  the 
fine  imposed   after   the  pillage   of    Oropus;    Plut.    Cat.   maj.   22;    Cic. 
de  Orat.  II.  37-  155- 
'  Ter.  And.  5S-7-  "  quod  plerique  omnes  faciunt  adulescentuli 

ut  animum  ad  aliquod  studium  adiungant,aut  equos 
alere  aut  canes  ad  uenandumaut  ad  philosophos." 
For  attitude  of  Cato  towards  rhetoric  and  philosophy  cf.  Plut.  Cat.  maj. 
23,  Cato  Incert.  Lib.  Reliq.  19,  ed.  Jord.  p.  87. 

'Cic.  Acad.  IV.  32.  102. 


Carneades,  and  then  the  lessons  of  Panaetius.  With 
Panaetius  stoicism  no  longer  emphasized  exclusively  the 
speculative  side,  but  occupied  itself  as  well  with  the  practical 
organization  of  peoples  and  cities.'  The  role  of  philosophy 
in  politics  was  growing  and  an  influence  in  the  reforms  of 
Tiberius  Gracchus  is  attributed  by  ancient  writers  to  the 
rhetor    Diophanes    of    Mytilene    and    to    the   philosopher 

Blossius  of  Cumae.^ 

The  scientific  study  of  the  period  was  mainly  concerned 
with  the  improvement  of  the  calendar,  which  did  not  cor- 
respond exactly  to  the  solar  year.  In  192  B.  C.  the  consul 
M\  Acilius  Glabrio  is  said  to  have  proposed  the  institution 
of  intercalary  days.  The  pontiffs  who  had  charge  of  regu- 
lating the  intercalations,  abused  the  privilege,  however,  by 
employing  it  to  lengthen  or  shorten  the  term  of  magistrates.^ 
In  188  B.  C.  M.  Fulvius  Nobilior  posted  on  his  temple  of 
Hercules  and  the  Muses  a  list  of  the  months  and  days  of 
the  year  with  explanations  about  each.^  This  was  done 
evidently  in  order  to  familiarize  the  people  with  the  facts. 

There  was  also  an  attempt  to  determine  more  exactly  the 
hours  of  the  day.  In  263  B.  C.  a  sun-dial  brought  from 
Sicily  by  M.  Valerius  Messala,  had  been  set  up  in  the  forum, 
but  as  this  was  regulated  for  Catana,  it  was  not  entirely 

>Strabo  XIV.  5.  16;  Cic.  de  Fin.  II.  8.  24:  ''nee  ilk,  qui  Diogenem 
Stoicum  adulescens,  post  autem  Fanaetium  audierat,  Laelius*';  de  Leg. 
III.  6.  14:  ''etiam  a  Stoicis  ista  tractata  suntf  Non  sane  nisi  ab  eo, 
quern  tnodo  nominaui,  et  postea  a  magno  homine  et  in  primis  erudtto, 
Panaetio,  nam  ueteres  uerbo  tenus  acute  illi  quidem,  sed  non  ad  hunc 
usum  popularem  atque  civilem,  de  re  publica  disserebant." 

'  Plut.  Tib.  Grace.  8. 

»  Macrob.  Sat.  I.  13.  21 ;  Censor,  de  Die  Natal.  XX.  6,  7:  "  pontificibus 
datum  negotium  eorumque  arbitrio  intercalandi  ratio,  permissa.  sed 
horum  plerique  ob  odium  uel  gratiam,  quo  quis  magistratu  citius  abiret 
diutiusue  fungeretur...plus  minusue  ex  libidine  intercalando  rem  stbt 
ad  corrigendum  mandatam  ultro  quod  deprauarunt." 

*  Macrob.  Sat.  I.  12.  16. 


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SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[72 


correct.  In  164  B.  C,  Q.  Marcius  Philippus,  the  censor, 
erected  one  regulated  for  Roman  use.  To  some  people, 
however,  the  new  method  of  telling  time  was  not  entirely 
desirable.  Plautus  puts  in  the  mouth  of  one  of  his  charac- 
ters an  amusing  diatribe  against  the  recent  innovation,  be- 
ginning :  "  May  the  gods  destroy  the  man  who  first  dis- 
covered hours,  and  even  more,  the  man  who  first  set  up  ai 
sun-dial  here  and  divided  the  day  into  little  bits  of  pieces 
for  poor  me."  In  159  B.  C.  Scipio  Nasica  introduced  the 
first  water-clock.^ 

The  study  of  astronomy  had  progressed  so  that  many 
Romans  were  able  to  comprehend  the  scientific  explanation 
of  natural  phenomena.  In  168  B.  C,  before  the  battle  of 
Pydna,  when  an  eclipse  of  the  moon  terrified  the  soldiers, 
C.  Sulpicius  Gallus.  the  military  tribune  of  Aemilius  Paulus, 
the  next  day  explained  the  occurrence  to  them,  giving  them 
a  brief  description  of  the  planetary  system.  According  to 
Livy  he  not  only  explained  the  phenomenon  but  also  an- 
nounced the  hour  beforehand.-  While  it  is  improbable  that 
he  would  be  able  to  make  such  definite  calculations,  still  it 
is  important  that  a  Roman  officer  of  the  time  could  make 
such  an  explanation. 

*  Plin.  H.  N.  VII.  60  (60).  213-5;  Plaut.  frag.  Boeotia,  cf.  Fowler, 
Social  Life  at  Rome  (New  York,  1910),  p.  265. 

»Cic.  de  Rep.  I.  15.  23;  Val.  Max.  VIII.  11.  i;  Liv.  XLIV.  37-  5,  6: 
"  pronuntiaiiit  node  proxima,  ne  quis  id  pro  portento  acciperet,  ab  hora 
secunda  usque  ad  quartam  horam  noctis  lunam  defecturam  esse,  id 
quia  naturali  ordine  statis  temporibus  Hat,  et  sciri  ante  et  praedici  posse." 


CHAPTER  IV 


Slaves 


The  number  of  slaves  in  Italy  increased  rapidly  in  this 
period  as  the  sources  of  supply  became  more  abundant. 
Wallon  attempts  to  estimate  the  slave  population  of  Italy  at 
the  beginning  of  the  second  Punic  War  and  then  again  at 
the  time  of  the  first  consulship  of  Pompey.  The  total  popu- 
lation of  Italy  is  first  estimated  on  the  basis  of  the  grain 
supply,  and  from  this  is  deducted  the  number  of  the  inhabi- 
tants who  were  included  in  the  census  lists  with  allowance 
for  the  number  of  freedmen  and  foreigners.  While  it  is 
recognized  that  the  result  is  necessarily  inexact,  he  con- 
cludes that  the  beginning  of  the  second  Punic  War  the  ser- 
vile population  w^as  still  far  from  equaling  the  free  popula- 
tion, whereas  at  the  time  of  the  first  consulship  of  Pompey 
"a  la  diminution  du  nombre  des  hommes  fibres  a  corre- 
spondu,  generalement,  une  augmentation  des  esclaves  et  que 
ce  dernier  nombre,  plus  faible  que  I'autre  au  commencement 
de  la  seconde  guerre  punique,  Ta  maintenant  au  moins 

egale."  ^ 

There  are  indications  that  from  Cato  the  Censor  to  Cato 
of  Utica  the  number  of  domestic  slaves,  at  least  in  the 
wealthier  and  more  aristocratic  families,  had  become  several 
times  as  great.  Valerius  Maximus,  after  comparing  the 
three  slaves  of  the  former  with  the  twelve  attendants  of  the 
latter  under  similar  circumstances,  significantly  adds,  "  nu- 

1  Wallon,  Histoire  de  Vesclavage,  vol.  ii,  p.  70,  et  seq.,  p.  I57- 
73]  ^^ 


74 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[74 


mero  plures  quant  superior,  temporum  diuersis  moribus 
patfciores.'*  ^  Such  moderation  in  the  number  of  slaves  was 
not  exceptional  in  the  time  of  the  elder  Cato.  Scipio  Aemi- 
lianus  when  he  was  commissioned  by  the  Senate  "  to  settle 
the  kingdoms  throughout  the  world  "  only  took  five  slaves.* 
The  chief  reason  for  the  increase  in  the  number  of  slaves 
during  this  period  was  the  foreign  wars  in  which  large 
numbers  were  included  in  the  booty.  Some  of  these  cap- 
tives were  brought  to  Rome  for  the  triumph,  and  others 
were  sold  on  the  spot  by  the  quaestors.  The  sale  was  called 
sub  hasta  or  sub  corone  n^nire.^  It  is  striking  in  this  con- 
nection to  note  Polybius'  description  of  the  crowds  of  un- 
armed citizens,  "  more  numerous  than  the  soldiers  them- 
selves/' who  followed  the  camp  of  Flaminius  in  hopes  of 
booty,  carrying  chains  and  fetters  with  them  in  readiness 
for  the  slaves  they  hoped  to  obtain.'*  Besides  the  captives 
in  war,  however,  there  were  also  other  sources  from  which 
slaves  were  acquired.  Kidnapping  and  piracy  were  carried 
on  extensively,  and  many  of  the  slaves  offered  for  sale  in 
the  markets  were  obtained  in  this  way.^  In  addition  to 
slaves  acquired  by  purchase  there  were  the  slaves  born  in 
the  household  and  known  as  uernai\  These  persons  grew 
up  in  the  family  with  the  children  of  the  master  and  were 
nursed  by  a  nutrex  or  sometimes  even  by  the  mistress  her- 
self.*^ 


^Val.  Max.  IV.  3.  11,  12. 

»  Polyb.  Frag.  XXIX. 

»Liv.  XXIII.  37.  12,  XXXIX.  42.  I,  XU.  II.  8;  Cato  de  re  militari 
2,  ed.  Jord.  p.  80:  "  wf  populus  sua  opera  potius  oh  rem  bene  gestam 
coronatus  supplicatum  eat,  quam  re  male  gesta  coronatus  ueneat"', 
Plaut.  Capt.  34:  ''emit  hose'  de  praeda  ambos  de  quaestoribus"  cf. 
ibid.  Ill,  453,  Epid.  43-4,  210-1. 

*  Polyb.  III.  82. 

*  Plaut.  Cure.  644,  et  seq.,  Men.  30-1,  Capt.  8-10,  Poen.  897. 

®  Plut.  Cat.  maj.  20 :  the  wife  of  Cato  nursed  the  children  of  the 


75] 


SLAVES 


75 


Slave-dealing,  although  recognized  as  a  regular  busi- 
ness, was  regarded  with  disfavor  as  a  quaestus  inhonestus. 
Wallon  points  out  that  as  the  Greeks  had  the  advantage  of 
the  Romans  in  long  experience,  they  therefore  were  more 
prominent  in  the  slave  traffic  in  Rome  than  the  Romans 
themselves,  but  it  is  evident  that  Romans  of  high  rank  did  j 
not  disdain  to  profit  by  it  indirectly.  Cato,  for  example, 
provided  his  slaves  with  money  with  which  to  buy  young 
slaves  who  were  to  be  trained  for  a  year  and  then  sold  at  a 
profit.^  The  traffic  in  slaves  was  carried  on  in  public  mar- 
kets, and  the  slave  to  be  sold  was  put  up  on  a  stone  and 
proclaimed  by  the  herald.  There  was  a  fixed  spot  for  slave 
dealing  near  the  temple  of  Castor.  In  this  period  there  was 
no  general  tax  on  the  sale  of  slaves,  although  one  was  later 
established  under  Augustus.  Cato,  however,  imposed  a  tax 
on  slaves  under  twenty  who  were  sold  for  more  than  a  cer- 
tain price.  ^ 

The  prices  of  slaves  varied  according  to  circumstances. 


domestic  slaves;  Plaut.  Mil.  Glor.  698:  ''quid?  nutrici  nan  missuru's 
quicquam  quae  uernas  alit?  " 

In  ancient  law  every  execution  was  personal  and  resulted  in  the 
bondage  of  the  debtor,  so  that  the  creditor  might  either  sell  him 
Orans  Tiberim)  or  kill  him.  The  extreme  provisions  of  the  law  were 
no  longer  used,  but  bondage  for  debt  continued  to  be  the  civil  law 
method  of  execution  par  excellence.  The  debtor  who  was  unable  to 
pay,  was  brought  before  the  praetor  and  addicted  to  his  creditor.  He 
was  thus  placed  by  execution  in  somewhat  the  position  of  a  slave 
in  regard  to  his  creditor,  and  addiction  is  frequently  incorrectly  given 
as  one  of  the  sources  of  slaves  at  Rome.  Cf.  Sohm,  op.  cit.,  p.  266, 
et  seq.  Plaut.  Men.  96-7:  "nam  ego  ad  Menaechmum  hunc  <nMfK:> 
eo  quo  iam  diu  \  sum  iudicatus";  Poen.  1341,  1361 :  "  quin  egomet  tibi 
me  addico,  quid  praetore  opust";  Ter.  Phorm.  334;  Liv.  XXIII.  14.  3: 
"  quique  pecuniae  iudicati  in  uinculis  essent." 

1  Plaut.  Capt.  98-9;  Wallon,  Histoire  de  t'esclavage,  vol.  ii,  p.  48; 
Plut.  Cat.  maj.  21. 

2  Plaut.  Bac£.  815-6:  "  atque  in  eopse  astas  lapide,  ut  praeco  praedicat 
...quis  me  uendit?"  Cure.  481;  Liv.  XXXIX.  44.  3. 


7^ 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[76 


In  the  comedies  the  prices  are  given  in  Greek  money,  but 
there  was  a  close  relation  between  the  Greek  drachma  and 
the  Roman  denarius,  and  in  later  times  the  term  ''drachma" 
came  to  be  applied  to  the  denarius.^  For  purposes  of  com- 
parison, therefore,  the  drachma  may  be  recognized  as  ap- 
proximately equal  to  the  denarius.  According  to  Cato  a 
fair  price  for  a  first-class  laboring  slave  was  1500  denarii 
(c.  $270)  but  ordinary  unskilled  labor  probably  brought 
much  less.  In  194  B.  C.  the  prisoners  who  had  been  sold  in 
Greece  by  Hannibal  were  bought  back  at  the  low  price  of 
500  denarii.  The  prices  of  Greek  markets  corresponded 
roughly  to  those  of  the  Roman  markets  during  this  period 
in  consequence  of  the  closer  relations  which  were  estab- 
lished between  the  two  people.  After  the  battle  of  Cannae, 
Hannibal  had  offered  to  ransom  his  captives  at  500  denarii 
for  a  horseman,  300  for  a  foot-soldier,  and  100  for  a  slave, 
but  that  this  price  was  below  the  usual  value  of  slaves  is 
indicated  by  the  statement  of  Livy  that  the  Senate  pur- 
chased as  soldiers  (miles)  eight  thousand  slaves  "though 
they  had  the  power  of  redeeming  the  captives  at  less  ex- 
pense." An  even  lower  price  was  agreed  upon  by  Fabius  as 
a  ransom — 250  drachma.' 

A  philosopher  is  estimated  in  Plautus  at  a  talent  (Capt. 
274)  ;  an  intelligent  able-bodied  young  slave  of  superior 
quality  is  estimated  at  20  minae  (Capt.  364)  ;  and  for  young 
slave-boys  of  high  personal  attractions  extravagant  sums 
were  paid  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  censors  to  check  this 

*Hultsch,  Griechische  und  Romische  Metrologic  (Berlin,  1882),  p. 
149,  states  that  in  later  times  in  Rome  instead  of  the  drachma  "  wurde 
. . .  der  Denar  gebraucht  und  der  Name  Drachme  auf  diesen  iiber- 
tragen." 

»Plut.  Cat.  maj.  4;  Liv.  XXXIV.  50.  6,  XXII.  57-  11-12,  S^.  4;  PJut. 
Fah.  7. 


77^ 


SLAVES 


77 


growing  tendency.^  A  child  of  four  years  sold  for  6  minae 
(Capt.  8,974)  ;  two  children  and  their  nurse  at  18  minae 
(Poen.  897).  Young  girls  varied  according  to  their  accom- 
plishments and  personal  attractions.  A  fair  price  was  ap- 
parently 20  minae  (Pseud.  52,  Merc.  429;  Ten  Ad.  191),  \ 
but  as  low  as  600  nummi  is  mentioned  (Pers.  36),  and  as 
high  as  30  minae  (Merc.  432,  Rud.  45,  Most.  300,  Cure. 
63),  40  minae  (Epid.  52), "50  minae  (Merc.  440),  or  even  I 
60  minae  (Cure.  64,  Pers.  665).      *^ 

For  common  work  newly  imported  slaves  were  preferred 
rather  than  those  who  had  been  in  service  for  a  long  time. 
All  nationalities  were  represented,  and  the  names  of  slaves 
in  the  comedies  frequently  indicate  the  country  from  which 
they  come,  as  Lydus,  Libanus,  Cilix,  Syrus.  The  Syrians 
were  the  most  numerous  and  were  considered  particularly 
fitted  for  slavery  by  innate  qualities  of  submission  and  en- 
durance. They  w^ere  already  employed  especially  for  the 
humbler  duties  of  the  household,  and  in  Plautus  (Merc. 
413-6)  the  head  of  the  house  promises  to  obtain  "  a  Syrian 
or  an  Egyptian,  someone  to  grind  corn,  to  cook,  to  spin," 
and  to  perform  other  laborious  tasks.^ 

In  theory  the  slaves  were  not  badly  treated :  Cato  worked,  I 
ate,  and  drank  with  his  slaves,  and  in  any  case  it  was  to  the 
self-interest  of  the  master  to  keep  them  in  good  condition.  \ 

iLiv.  XXXIX.  44.  3  cf.  Polyb.  XXXII.  ii. 

Ramsay,  Most.  241,  et  seq.,  in  the  article  on  "Terms  Employed 
With  Reference  to  Money",  gives  an  explanation  of  money  in  Plautus, 
saying:  "In  the  works  of  the  Latin  dramatists  all  computations  in 
Greek  money  must  be  referred  to  the  Attic  standard  and  wherever 
moderate  sums  are  named  we  shall  not  commit  any  grave  error  if 
we  consider  the  value  of  the  Attic  drachma— 9d.  sterUng." 

2  Ten  Atid.  457:  "  quid  nam  hoc  est  rei?  quid  hie  uolt  ueteraior  sibi?" 
Plaut  Bac£.:  Lydus;  Asin.:  Libanus;  Fab.  Inc.  Frag.  149:  Cilix;  Merc, 
True.:  Syra;  Ter.  Heaut.:  Phrygia.  Syrus  cf.  Ad.:  Syrus;  And.: 
Lesbia,  Mysis.  Plaut.  Trin.  542:  "  ^^^  ^»^^^  Surorum,  genu'  quod 
patientissumumst.*' 


78 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[78 


79] 


SLA  VES 


79 


A  fixed  allowance  of  com  which  they  themselves  ground, 
olives,  salt-fish,  oil,  and  salt  was  given  to  each  slave,  and  a 
small  ration  of  wine.  The  distribution  was  made  monthly 
on  the  Kalends.  Cato  carefully  estimates  4  measures  of 
com  during  the  winter,  5  from  the  beginning  of  work  in 
the  vineyard  until  the  ripening  of  the  figs,  and  then  4  again. 
The  uilicus,  the  uilica,  and  the  opilio  ( shepherd ) ,  however, 
were  to  have  only  3.^  The  allowance  was  regulated  accord- 
ing to  the  amount  of  labor  performed,  and  was  raised  at  the 
festivals  of  the  Compitalia  and  the  Saturnalia,  the  latter  of 
which  had  recently  been  restored  to  especial  honor  in  the 
midst  of  the  reverses  of  the  second  Punic  War  in  217  B.  C* 
In  Plautus  (Stick.  690-1)  there  is  a  description  of  such 
festal  rations  which  includes  nuts,  beans,  figs,  olives,  lupine, 
and  small  pastry.  It  is  probable  that  sometimes,  at  least  in 
the  city,  an  equivalent  in  money  was  given  to  the  slave. 

Clothing  and  shoes  were  furnished  by  the  master,  al- 
though these  might  be  supplemented  by  presents  or  pur- 
chases from  the  peculium  of  the  slave.  For  the  street  the 
slave  wore  a  campestre  or  tunica  in  place  of  the  toga. 
Other  articles  of  clothing  were  the  cento,  a  garment  made  of 
several  bits  or  pieces  sewed  together,  the  tegillum,  a  kind  of 
hood,  the  saga,  a  coarse  woolen  mantle,  and  the  sculponeac, 
heavy  wooden  shoes.  ^     These  heavy  wooden  shoes  were 

*  Plut.  Cat.  maj.  3.  Plant.  Stick.  60:  "  uos  metninistts  quotcalendis 
petere  demensum  cibum"  cf.  Men.  14-15,  Trin.  944;  Ter.  Phorm.  43-4 
cf.  Don.  ad  Ter.  Phorm.  I.  i.  9;  Cato  R.  R.  LVI-LVIII,  CIV;  Plaut. 
Rud.  936-7:  "  hu:  rex  cum  aceto  pransurust  \  et  sale  sine  bono  pul- 
mento";  Cato  R.  R.  II.  4;  ''cum  serui  aegrotarint,  cibaria  tanta  dart 
non  oportuisse.** 

»Liv.  XXII.  I.  20. 

'Cato  R.  R.  LIX:  '*  uestimenta  familiae.  tunicam  P.  HIS:  saga 
alternis  annis:  quotiens  cuique  tunicam  aut  sagum  dabis,  prius  ueterem 
accipito,  unde  centones  fiant:  sculponeas  bonas  alternis  annis  dare 
oportet  "  ;  ibid.  II.  3,  X.  5  ;  Plaut.  Cas.  495  :  "  soleas . . .  qui  quaeso  potius 
quam  sculponeas";  Rud.  576:  "  tegillum";  Pseud.  1 187-8:  "  mea  quidem 
haec  habeo  omnia,  \  meo  peculio  empta  ". 


worn  by  both  male  and  female  slaves,  and  in  Plautus  ( Cas. 
708-12)  the  lighter  and  more  elegant  soleae  are  promised 
to  a  female  slave  only  as  a  high  reward — '*  I  will  give  you 
sandals  if  you  accomplish  this,  and  a  gold  ring  for  your 
finger,  and  many  presents.'* 

The  slave  was  not  only  permitted  but  encouraged  to 
amass  a  personal  fortune  or  peculium.  The  possession  of 
such  a  peculium  was  regarded  as  a  proof  of  industry  and 
capacity,  whereas  a  slave  without  a  peculium  was  regarded 
as  ''  nili  atque  inprobus.'^  It  was  furthermore  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  slave  to  acquire  capital  with  which  he  could 
buy  his  freedom.^  Various  means  were  open  for  securing  a 
peculium:  ( i )  the  slave  could  save  a  part  from  his  monthly 
allowance;  (2)  if  he  was  entrusted  with  the  independent 
carrying-on  of  some  business  for  his  master,  he  might  be 
given  a  share  in  the  returns;  (3)  if  a  shepherd,  he  was  per- 
mitted to  raise  some  of  the  sheep  for  his  own  profit  (pecu-j 
Harem). '^  The  peculium  of  course  could  not  be  disposed  of 
without  the  consent  of  the  master,  and  moreover  the  slave 
had  to  make  gifts  on  certain  occasions  such  as  the  wedding 
of  his  master's  son,  the  birth  of  a  child,  its  birthday,  et 
cetera.^ 

Legal  marriage  did  not  exist  for  slaves,*  but  unions  might 
be  contracted  with  the  consent  of  the  master.  Cato  de- 
manded a  fixed  sum  from  slaves  desiring  to  contract  such  a 

*  Plaut.  Rud.  112:  "  peculiosum  esse  addecet  seruom  et  probum'*; 
Asin.  498:  '*  frugi  tamen  sum,  nee  potest  peculium  enumerari" ;  Cas. 
257-8:  '*  armigero  nili  atque  inprobo,  \  quoi  homini  hodie  peculi  nummus 
non  est  plumbeus"  cf.  Aul.  466,  Asin.  277,  Capt.  1028,  Stick.  751,  Most. 
253,  863.    Rud.  929:  "pro  capite  argentum  ut  sim  liber"  cf.  Capt.  I2I. 

'  Ter.  Pkorm.  35,  et  seq. ;  Plaut.  Asin.  540-1 :  "  etiam  opilio  qui  pascet 
...alienas  ouis,  |  aliquant  habet  peculiarem  qui  spem  soletur  suam'*; 
Merc.  524-5,  Asin.  441-3;  Plut.  Cat.  maj.  21. 

'  Ter.  Pkorm.  35,  et  seq. 

*  Plaut.  Cas.  68-70. 


I 


P 


8o 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[80 


union,  but  Plutarch  suggests  that  this  practise  was  not  gen- 
eral.^ These  unions  were  frequently  recognized  as  equiv- 
alent to  marriage,  and  the  same  terms  such  as  nuptum  and 
uxor,  were  used  in  referring  to  them,  which  were  applied  in 
the  case  of  people  of  free  condition  to  legal  forms  from 
which  slaves  were  excluded.  Frequently  the  marriage  of 
certain  slaves  was  to  the  interest  of  the  master,  as  that  of 
the  uilicus  and  the  iiUica  advised  by  Cato.^ 

Private  slaves  were  divided  into  the  familia  urbana  and 
the  familia  rustica.  The  familia  rustica  had  a  harder  life, 
and  to  send  a  slave  to  the  villa  w^as  often  regarded  as  a 
punishment.  Some,  however,  might  prefer  to  work  there, 
as  the  farm  offered  them  greater  freedom  than  was  possible 
in  the  restrictions  of  city  life/  At  the  head  of  the  familia 
rustica  was  the  uilicus;  only  the  presence  of  the  master 
limited  his  power,  and  the  farm  was  his  "  praefectura " 
(Plant.  Cas.  99),  his  ''  prouincia''  (ibid.  103).  He  super- 
intended all  matters  pertaining  to  the  work  of  the  farm, 
including  the  buying  and  selling,  the  distribution  of  food 
and  clothing  to  the  slaves  under  him,  the  settlement  of  dis- 
putes, the  hiring  of  outside  help,  etc.  He  was  supposed 
to  be  expert  in  all  kinds  of  farm  work,  and  to  help  in  it  to 
some  extent  without  exhausting  himself — in  short,  in  the 
words  of  Cato,  the  uilicus  should  be  "  the  first  to  rise  in  the 
morning  and  the  last  to  retire  at  night.' 


Si] 


SLAVES 


81 


"  4 


*Plut.  Cat.  maj.  21. 

2  Plaut.  Cas.  254:  ''super  ancilla  Casina,  ut  detur  nuptum  nostra 
uilico";  Ter,  Ad.  973:  '' Phrygiam . . .  uxorem  tneam*\  Cato  R.  R. 
CXLIII.  I. 

'  Plaut.  Most.  4:  ''ego  pol  te  ruri,  si  uiuam,  ulciscar  probe**  cf. 
Ter.  Phorm.  249-50:  "  molendum  usque  in  pistrino,  uapulandum,  ha- 
hendae  compedes,  \  opus  ruri  faciendum " ;  Plaut.  Most.  6-7 :  "  quid 
tibi,  malum,  hie  ante  aedis  clamitatiost?  \  an  ruri  censes  te  esse?*' 

*Cato  R.  R.  V,  CXLTI;  Plaut.  Cas.  g^iio\  Pomponius  Ergastulum 
I,  Ribb.  Frag.  Com.  p.  232 :  **  longe  ab  urbe  uilicari,  quo  erus  rarenter 
uenit,  1   [Id]non  uilicari,  sed  dominari  est  mea  sententia." 


Under  him  were  the  ploughmen  {bubulci),  the  ass-driver 
(asinarius),  the  shepherd  (opilio),  the  swineherd  {subul- 
cus),  and  the  ordinary  workmen  (operarii).  The  number 
varied  according  to  the  size  of  the  estate;  for  one  of  240 
iugera  with  olives  and  sheep  Cato  estimates  5  ordinary^ 
workmen,  3  ploughmen,  i  ass-driver,  i  swineherd,  and  i 
shepherd;  for  one  of  100  iugera  with  a  vineyard  10  work- 
men, I  ploughman,  i  ass-driver,  i  swineherd,  and  one  man 
to  take  care  of  the  willow  trees  (salictarius).  In  harvest 
season  hired  hands  were  taken  on,  but  the  uilict4s  saw  to  it 
that  these  were  not  kept  any  longer  than  was  necessary/ 
Some  of  the  slaves  on  the  farm  were  compelled  to  work  in 
fetters  (compediti),  but  this  did  not  apply  to  the  large 
number  of  them  as  Cato  makes  an  exception  of  compediti 
in  the  distribution  of  food  and  provides  them  with  bread 
instead  of  corn  to  be  ground.  Probably  only  those  worked 
in  chains  who  had  committed  some  offense  or  who  it  was 
feared  might  attempt  to  escape.  Besides  the  regular  w^ork 
of  the  farm  the  country  slaves  were  liable  to  be  called  on 
for  public  work  such  as  the  construction  of  roads.' 

The  work  inside  the  house  was  attended  to  bv  the  uilica, 
who,  as  has  been  said,  it  was  usuallv  considered  advisable 
should  be  married  to  the  uilicus.  She  attended  to  the  clean- 
ing, the  cooking,  and  the  poultry  yard,  and  Cato  bids  her 
see  to  it  that  there  is  a  plentiful  supply  of  eggs  and  chickens. 
Wallon  considers  that  while  the  uilica  is  the  only  woman 
mentioned  in  the  familia  rustica  enumerated  by  Cato,  the 
restraint  placed  on  unions  between  slaves  which  is  men- 
tioned by  Plutarch,  proves  that  there  were  other  slave 
women  in  the  villa.    The  statement  of  Plutarch,  however,  is 

^Cato  R.  R.  X,  XI,  V.  4:  "  operarium,  mercennarium,  politorem 
diutius  eundern  ne  habeat  die." 

-  Ibid.  LVI ;  Plaut.  Most.  19:  "  augebis  ruri  numerum,  genu'  ferratile!* 
Cato  R.  R.  II.  4:  "  uiam  publicam  muniri.*' 


m 


82 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[82 


not  applied  definitely  to  the  familia  rustica,  but  seems  rather 
to  refer  to  the  urban  household.^ 

The  slaves  in  the  familia  urbafia  were  in  closer  touch 
with  the  master,  and  their  condition  was  considered  more 
desirable.  W  ith  the  increase  in  the  number  of  slaves  their 
duties  and  occupations  were  highly  specialized,  and  the 
slave  who  was  delegated  to  some  special  office  resented  as 
an  infringement  any  call  upon  him  for  services  along  other 
lines.  For  example,  in  Plautus  (Cas.  461-2)  a  slave  com- 
plains disgustedly  that  he,  who  had  been  an  aducrsitor,  his 
master  wished  to  make  a  mere  door-keeper. 

The  slaves  may  be  divided  into  certain  groups.  First 
were  the  domestic  serv^ants :  of  these  the  most  important 
was  the  atricnsis,  who  in  this  period  managed  the  entire 
household,  attending  to  money  matters  such  as  purchases 
and  sales  and  superintending  the  provisions.^  That  he  was 
often  harsh  in  his  maintenance  of  discipline  is  suggested  in 
Plautus  (Asin.  371-2)  where  Leonida  with  the  desire  of 
the  true  artist  to  make  his  impersonation  of  the  atriensis  as 
realistic  as  possible,  stipulates  to  his  fellow-slave:  "  If  pres- 
ently when  I  am  pretending  to  be  Saurea,  I  should  break 
your  jaw  with  my  list,  don't  get  angry  over  it." 

Under  the  atriensis  were  the  porter  (ianifor  or  {anitrix), 
the  steward  (cellarius) ,  the  slave  who  laid  up  the  provisions 
(condus),  the  slave  who  distributed  the  provisions   (pro- 

^Cato  R.  R.  CXLIII,  cf.  Plaut  Merc,  508-9;  Ter.  Ad.  846,  et  seq.  on 
the  duties  of  a  female  slave  in  the  country : 

"  atque  ibi  fauillae  plena,  fumi  ac  pollinis 
coquendo  sit  faxo  et  molendo;  praeter  haec 
meridie  ipso  faciam  tit  stipulam  conligat; 
tarn  excoctam  reddam  atque  atram   qiiam   carbost.'* 

Wallon,  Histoire  de  Vesclavage,  vol.  ii,  p.  103  cf,  Plut.  Cat.  maj.  21. 

2  Plaut.  Asin.  347,  368-9,  Pseud.  608-9 :  "  condus,  promus  sum,  pro- 
curator pent.  I  quasi  te  dtcas  atricnsem  "  cf.  Poen.  1283 :  "  ipse  abiit 
foras,  me  reliquit  pro  atricnsi  in  aedibus." 


83] 


SLAVES 


83 


wwxf),  his  assistant  (sub promus) ,  the  slave  who  arranged 
the  couches  (lectisterniator) ,  the  cook  (coquus),  the  weaver 
(textrix)y  and  various  others  to  satisfy  the  increasing  needs 
of  the  household.^  The  familia  also  included  the  personal 
slaves,  as  the  nurse  (nutrex),  the  teacher  (litterator) ,  the 
pedagogue  (pacdagogus),  the  invitation-bearer  (calator), 
the  attendants  or  lackeys  (pedisequus,  pedisequa) ,  the  slaves 
who  went  to  meet  the  master  {adtier sit  ores),  the  garment- 
folder  (uestipica) ,  the  fan-bearer  {flabellifera),  the  keeper 
of  the  jewel-casket  (cistellatrix).  the  sandal-bearer  (sanda- 
ligertda),  et  cetera.  There  were  also  slaves  skilled  in  music 
in  the  familia,  although  professional  entertainers  might  be 
hired  for  an  occasion.^  Naturally  this  division  of  labor 
was  not  carried  so  far  in  every  household,  even  those  of  the 
wealthy,  but  a  single  slave  might  be  entrusted  with  several 
functions. 

In  addition  to  the  house  slaves  and  the  farm  slaves  there 
were  the  industrial  slaves,  send  iisurarii,  who  practised  dif- 

^  Plaut.  Asin.  390-1:  "ianitor";  Cure.  7^:  ''ianitrix."  Mil.  Glor. 
824,  Capt.  895:  ''cellarius:'  Pseud.  608,  Mil.  Glor.  837,  846,  Poen.  716. 
Pseud.  162 :  "  lectisterniator."  The  £oquus  is  taken  up  more  in  detail 
in  a  separate  paragraph.  Weaving  was  one  of  the  principal  occupa- 
tions of  female  slaves  cf.  Plaut.  Merc.  518-20: 

"  possin  tu,  sei  ussus  uenerit,  subtemen  tenue  neref 
possum,  sei  tenue  scis,  scio  te  uberius  posse  nere. 
de  laniticio  nemineni  metuo,  una  aetate  quae  sit." 

Men.  796-7. 

^The  nutrex,  the  litterator,  and  the  paedagogus  are  dealt  with  more 
fully  in  the  chapter  on  "Children".  Plaut.  Rud.  335:  "  calator", 
Asin.  183,  Aul.  807;  Ter.  And.  123:  ''pedisequa";  Plaut.  Poen.  41: 
"  pedisequi ".  Stick.  607,  Men.  437,  445,  Most.  938,  947  cf.  Don.  ad  Ter. 
Ad.  I.  I.  2:  "  aduersitores".  Plaut.  Trin.  253-4:  "  uestipica ..  .iiabelli- 
ferae,  sandaligerulae,  \  rantrices,  cistellatrices,  nuntii,  renuntii" ;  Epid. 
411,  372:  "Micinam,  nurnmo  conducta  quae  sit"]  Aul.  280-1;  Liv. 
XXXIX.  6.  8. 


84 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[84 


ferent  trades  for  their  master's  profit.     Examples  are  the 
tonstrix,  the  tibicina,  the  Hdicina,  and  various  artisans/ 

A  slave  who  deserves  special  mention  because  of  his 
rapid  increase  of  importance  in  this  period  is  the  cook 
(coquus).  The  regular  daily  cooking  was  done  by  a  com- 
mon slave  of  the  household,  but  for  special  occasions  such 
as  weddings,  birthdays,  large  dinners  and  the  like  an  expert 
cook  was  hired.  In  all  of  the  plays  of  Plautus  these  cooks 
are  apparently  slaves,  whereas  in  Greek  comedy  the  pro- 
fessional cook  is  never  represented  as  a  slave  except  in  one 
play  of  Posidippus,  and  Rankin  thinks  that  even  this  cook 
was  not  an  actual  slave  but  an  apprentice  to  a  higher  /xayctpo?. 
A  hired  cook  brought  with  him  assistant  cooks  and  his 
own  cooking  utensils.  He  received  usually  one  drachma 
for  his  services,  but  especially  expert  cooks  charged  twice 
this  amount.  Sometimes  in  addition  to  their  regular  pay 
they  received  more  or  less  generous  "  tips.''  These  profes- 
sional cooks  took  their  stand  in  the  macellimi  or  provision- 
market.^ 

*  Plaut.  Cure.  383;  True.  405-6:  '' tonstrieem  Suram  . . .  nostram  "  cf. 
777  where  Callicles  inflicts  on  her  the  punishment  of  a  slave  and 
Phronesium  claims  her  as  her  property,  "  tonstrieem  me.am "  (856)  ; 
Aul.  280-1,  Epid.  y]2\  Asin.  441,  et  seq. 

2Liv.  XXXIX.  6.  9  (187  B.  C)  :  ''turn  coquus,  uilissimum  antiquis 
^uaneipium  ct  aestimatione  et  usu,  in  pretio  esse  et,  quod  ministerium 
fuerat,  ars  liaberi  eoepta";  Plaut.  Mere.  416;  Ter.  And.  31;  cooks 
hired  for  special  occasions  ef.  Plaut.  Aul.  280,  Mere.  697,  Pseud.  798, 
et  seq.',  Aul.  309  indicates  the  cooks  are  slaves  as  they  speak  of  pur- 
chasing their  freedom  ef.  34^,  et  seq.,  409,  Men.  275  where  the  treat- 
ment they  receive  is  such  as  would  be  accorded  to  slaves.  Rankin, 
Role  of  the  Mdyeipoi  in  the  Life  of  the  Ancient  Greeks  (Chicago,  1907). 
p.  20.  Plaut.  Cas.  720,  et  seq.,  Pseud.  865,  et  seq.,  Aul.  398-9.  409.  553. 
Merc.  741,  779,  et  seq.;  Aul.  445-6:  "nisi  reddi  \  mihi  uasa  iubes"  ef. 
Mere.  781.  Ibid.  777 :  "  drachmam  dato  "  ef.  Pseud.  808-9 :  "  illi  drachu- 
missent  miseri:  me  nemo  potest  \  minoris  quisquam  nummo  ut  surgam 
abigere";  Aul.  448.  Ibid.  309-10:  "  censen  talentum  magnum  exorari 
pote  I  ab  istoc  sene,  ut  det  qui  fiamus  liberi*'?    Ibid.  280-1,  Pseud.  790: 


85] 


SLAVES 


85 


Up  to  now  the  marketing  had  been  done  by  some 
hanger-on  of  the  household  or  even  more  simply  by  the 
master  himself,  but  this  was  now  being  superseded.  In  the 
Menaechmi,  the  only  instance  in  Plautus  of  a  household 
cook  who  is  regarded  as  competent  to  prepare  a  large  ban-| 
quet,  the  cook  himself  does  the  marketing,  and  in  some] 
wealthy  families  the  growing  importance  of  the  culinar}-  art 
had  already  called  forth  the  opsonator.  It  was  the  duty  of 
the  opsonator  to  purchase  the  provisions,  and  his  ofifice  be- 
came an  important  feature  of  the  imperial  households.' 

Besides  the  private  slaves  there  were  also  the  public  slaves 
of  the  state.  These  slaves  were  employed  in  various  ways : 
in  the  service  of  the  tribunes,  as  clerks  in  public  offices,  for 
service  in  the  navy,  for  the  menial  work  of  sacrifices.  Livy 
mentions  uigiliae  (watchmen),  but  without  stating  whether 
they  were  slaves  or  free.^ 

The  punishment  of  slaves  was  not  regulated  by  law.  It 
was  left  arbitrarily  to  the  master,  and  in  almost  every 
household  of  any  size  there  was  a  lorarius,  the  executor  of 
punishment  for  slaves.  Often  for  comparatively  light 
offenses  there  was  a  severe  penalty.  For  example,  when 
Cato  invited  friends  to  dinner,  if  the  meal  had  been  in  any 
way  badly  prepared  or  served,  the  guilty  slave  was  whipped.' 

"forum  coquinum"  which  Richter,  Miiller's  Handbuch  (Munich, 
1901),  vol.  iii,  sec.  ii,  p.  310,  "Topographic  von  Rom,"  thinks  is  merely 
another  term  for  macellum;  Ter.  Eun.  255:  macellum  cf.  Plin.  H.  H. 
XVIII.   II    {2&).  108. 

^  Plaut.  Aul.  280:  "  postquam  opsonauit  erus";  Capt.  474  cf.  Ter. 
Eun.  255,  et  seq.  where  the  parasite  does  the  marketing.  Plaut.  Mil 
Glor.  (:^7\  '*  opsonatorem  optumum." 

'Plaut.  Capt.  334:  *' priuatam  seruitutem  seruit  illi  an  publicam"; 
Liv.  XXXVIII.  51.  12,  XLIII.  16.  13,  XL.  29.  14;  Polyb.  X.  17:  "after 
the  assault  of  New  Carthage  the  craftsmen  were  made  temporarily 
public  slaves  of  Rome . . .  some  were  drafted  into  the  navy."  Liv. 
XXXIX.  14.  10. 

'Plaut.  Capt.  II.  i:  lorarii  cf.  Ter.  And.;  Plut.  Cat.  maj.  25. 


86 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[86 


For  very  slight  offenses  the  slave  was  condemned  to  wear 
the  furca,  a  fork-shaped  wooden  yoke  with  the  prongs 
bound  to  his  hands.  This  was  not  especially  painful,  but 
was  exacted  ''  more  as  a  disgrace  than  as  an  actual  punish- 
ment "  (Don.  ad  Ter.  And.  III.  5.  12).  The  most  common 
form  of  punishment  was  whipping,  and  three  kinds  of  m- 
struments  are  mentioned  according  to  the  severity  of  the 
flogging  to  be  administered:  (i)  rods  or  switches  {uirgac, 
idnici),  (2)  leather  whips  {lora).  (3)  whips  of  knotted 
cords  combined  with  strips  of  metal  {Hagra)} 

Slaves  who  had  been  guilty  of  a  more  serious  offense  or 
whom  it  was  thought  might  attempt  to  escape,  were  kept  in 
chains.  Various  kinds  of  fetters  were  used  and  of  var>nng 
weights  ranging  from  the  lighter  chains  {catenae  singu- 
lares)  to  the  very  heavy  ones  for  the  dangerous  slaves. 
There  were  shackles  for  different  parts  of  the  body:  the 
compedes  and  pedicae  for  the  feet,  fnanicae  for  the  hands, 
boiae  for  the  neck,  and  leather  thongs  (ncruae).  Other 
forms  of  punishment  were:  (i)  to  shut  the  slave  up  in  the 
puteus,  an  underground  dungeon,  where  he  was  often 
bound  to  a  post:  (2)  to  send  him  to  work  in  the  quarries 
or  in  the  mill— the  occupation  of  slaves  and  the  poorest 
of  free  men:  (3)  to  condemn  him  to  hard  labor  in  the 
country.^     Extreme  and  barbarous  punishments  are  men- 

iDon.  ad  Ter  And.  III.  5-  12:  '' ignominiae  magis  quam  supplicii 
causa."  Plaut.  Cas.  389;  Ter.  And.  618.  The  yoke  was  also  worn  by 
slaves  about  to  be  crucified  cf.  Plaut.  Most.  56,  Mil.  Glor.  359-6o: 
^' patibulum."  Plaut.  Asin.  298,  Bacc.  779.  Capt.  650:  ''uirgae'';  Pers.^ 
279.  Rud.  636:  -uUner-  Capt  658:  Uora'' )  Pseud.  1240:  '' Hagrum 
cf.  Most.  57,  Men.  951. 

*  Plaut.  Capt.  112,  et  seq.,  357.  722,  et  seq.,  Asin.  548-553,  Most.  1065; 
Ter.  Phorm.  249  cf.  Polyb.  XX.  10.  Plaut.  Bacc.  823:  "  astringite  ad 
columnam  fortiter"  cf.  Poen.  1153:  '' puteum  . .  .ad  robustum  codxcem" 
Bacc.  781:  "  ferratusque  in  pistrino  aetatem  conteras"  cf.  Eptd.  121, 
Pers.  22,  Poen.  827-8;  Ter.  And.  600.  Plaut.  Most.  4;  Ter.  Phorm. 
249-50. 


87] 


SLAVES 


87 


tioned,  such  as  cutting  off  the  hands,  or  breaking  the  ankle 
bones,  but  these  cases  were  doubtless  very  exceptional.^ 
Severity  of  treatment  was  not  confined  to  the  male  slaves. 
The  female  slaves  were  subject  to  much  the  same  penalties 
of  flogging  and  fetters.' 

Death  was  usually  inflicted  by  crucifixion,  the  slave  being 
led  to  execution  wearing  the  yoke  (patibulian).  Some- 
times nails  were  driven  through  the  hands  and  feet.^ 

As  slaves  might  naturally  think  of  running  away  to 
escape  punishment  or  to  gain  liberty,  great  care  was  taken 
to  guard  against  it.  Runaway  slaves  when  recaptured 
might  be  put  to  death,  or  if  their  life  was  spared,  were 
marked  with  a  brand.  Anyone  who  received  a  fugitive, 
moreover,  was  liable  to  a  penalty  for  so  doing.  The  best 
recourse  for  a  delinquent  slave  was  to  find  some  influential 
man,  precator,  who  would  intercede  with  the  master  on  his 
behalf.' 

A  slave  might  obtain  his  freedom  either  by  purchase  or  I 
in  return  for  some  unusual  service.     In  some  cases,  if  a  ' 
slave  belonging  to  a  private  individual  had  exhibited  notable 
bravery  or  loyalty  to  the  state,  the  state  might  purchase  him 
from  his  master  at  public  expense  and  then  set  him  free.*^ 
According  to  the  strictly  legal  formula  of  emancipation  the 


^  Plaut.  Capt.  667-8,  Rud.  1059. 

» Plaut.  True.  77S,  et  seq.  cf.  Ter.  Ad.  846-7. 

'Plaut.  Most.  56,  360:  "  ofligantur  bis  pedes,  bis  bracchia"  cf.  Mil. 
Glor.  359-60,  372-s:  *' scio  crucem  futuram  mihi  sepulcrum;  \  ibi  mei 
maiores  sunt  siti,  pater,  auos,  proauos,  abauos." 

*  Polyb.  I.  69 :  runaway  slaves  when  recovered  might  be  put  to  death 
with  torture  in  accordance  with  the  law;  Plaut.  Cas.  401,  Poen.  184; 
Ter.  Heaut.  976:   "  precatorem." 

^  Plaut.  Cas.  474,  Asin.  650,  et  seq.,  Ter.  And.  37-9-  "feci  ex  seruo 
ut  esses  libertus  mihi,  |  propterea  quod  seruibas  liberaliter:  \  quod 
habui  suinmum  pretium  persolui  tibiJ'    Liv.  XXVI.  27,  XXXII.  26.  14. 


88 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[88 


89] 


SLA  VES 


89 


master  brought  the  slave  before  the  praetor  and  pronounced 
the  words  "  liber  esto.'*  The  magistrate  then  ratified  the 
act  by  striking  the  slave  with  his  rod  (festuca).  A  slave 
might  also  become  free  simply  by  the  consent  of  his  master 
without  going  through  the  technical  legal  formula,  but  such 
manumission  was  incomplete  and  unstable.  Only  the  for- 
mal emancipation  ratified  by  the  authority  of  the  magistrate 
was  absolutely  final/ 

When  a  slave  was  set  free,  he  would  cut  his  hair  and 
assume  the  cap  (pile us)  which  was  the  sign  of  freedom. 
After  the  formal  emancipation  this  was  assumed  in  the 
temple  of  the  goddess  Feronia,  but  those  who  had  been  in- 
formally set  free  might,  without  further  ceremony,  simply 
assume  the  pileus  or  fillet  their  head  with  white  wool  as  the 
symbol  of  their  changed  condition.^ 
I  According  to  law  the  slave  had  no  legal  rights  but  was 
V  to  be  regarded  as  a  piece  of  property.  Cato  classes  slaves 
with  the  cattle,  the  asses,  and  the  work-implements  in  mak- 
ing the  inventory  of  a  country  estate,  and  Polybius,  who 
puts  cattle  and  slaves  ''  among  those  commodities  which 
are  the  first  necessaries  of  existence"  (Polyb.  IV.  38),  in 
describing  a  certain  state  speaks  of  it  as  "  populous  as  well 
as  .  .  .  richly  furnished  with  slaves  and  other  property " 
(Polyb.  IV.  /^).  The  slave  had  no  rights  of  ownership 
except  on  sufferance  from  his  master,  no  father,  no  marriage. 
no  homeland — even  his  testimony  was  not  accepted  as  legal 

'  Plaut  Epid.  730,  Ter.  Ad.  969-70  cf.  Plaut.  Men.  1 148-9:  "liber  esto 
...  I  sed  meliorest  opus  auspicio,  ut  liber  perpetuo  stem  " ;  Pers.  487 : 
"  i  ad  forum  ad  praetorem  " ;  Mil.  Glor.  961 :  "  ingenuan  an  festuca  facta 
e  serua  liberast*' 

'Plaut.  Pers.  447:  "  supplicatum  eras  eat."  Liv.  XXIV.  16.  18: 
'*  pilleati  aut  lana  uelatis  capitibus  uolones  epulati  sunt."  Polyb.  XXX. 
19:  "with  shorn  hair  and  wearing  a  cap,  toga,  and  shoes,  and  in  fact 
exactly  in  the  garb  worn  by  those  recently  manumitted  at  Rome,  whom 
they  call  liberti." 


, 


evidence  unless  obtained  through  torture.^  In  Plautus 
(Epid,  257)  the  slave  even  feels  it  incumbent  upon  him  to 
apologize  for  being  more  ingenious  than  a  free  man  and 
prefaces  his  suggestion  with  a  humble  apology. 

A  slave  usually  expected  to  be  kept  at  work  until  he  out- 
grew his  usefulness,  and  when  he  became  old  or  sick,  was 
often  removed  by  a  speedy  sale."     He  who  had  no  hope  of 
purchasing  his  freedom,  could  only  resign  himself  to  his  lot  ^ 
as  the  aged  Syra  of  the  Mercator  (671  et  seq.),  who,  when 
she  was  chided  by  her  mistress  for  not  approaching  more 
swiftly,  answered:  *'  I  cannot,  in  truth,  so  heavy  is  the  bur- 
den that  I  bear!"     "What  burden?"  asks  the  mistress  in 
astonishment,  for  the  slave's  hands  are  empty.     ''  The  bur-^ 
den  of  eighty-four  years ;  and  to  this  burden  are  added  the : 
burdens  of  slavery,  of  toil,  of  thirst.     All  these  which  ij 
bear,  weigh  me  down."  I 

The  slave  had  no  recognized  religious  cult  of  his  own. 
The  master  sacrificed  for  the  entire  familia.  The  uilicaSy 
however,  was  allowed  to  make  an  offering  to  the  Compi- 
tales,  and  the  uilica  was  to  decorate  the  house  with  a  wreath 
on  the  Kalends,  Nones,  and  Ides,  and  do  reverence  to  the 
Lar  Familiaris,  although  she  could  not  perform  any  sacri- 
fice nor  order  one  to  be  performed  without  the  command  of 
the  master  or  mistress.  Either  a  slave  or  a  free  man  was 
permitted  to  perform  the  rite  of  Mars  Silvanus.^ 

The  entire  management  of  the  household  was  conducted 

'Cato  R.  R.  X.  Plaut.  Capt.  574:  ''quern  patrem,  qui  seruos  est" 
cf.  Caecilius  Statins  Ex  incert.  fab.  IV,  Ribb.  Frag.  Com.  p.  74* 
"  quibus  nee  mater  nee  pater,  |  tanta  coniidentiaf  auferte  istam  enim 
superbiam  " ;  Plaut.  Pers.  641 :  "  quando  hie  seruio,  haec  patriast  mea.'* 
Ter.  Hec.  772>'-  "  ancillas  dedo:  quolubet  cruciatu  per  me  exquire"  cf. 
And.  771,  7S6,  Phorm.  292-3. 

2  Cato  R,  R.  II.  7;  Pl«t.  Cat.  maj.  4. 

>Cato  R.  R.  V.  3,  CXLIII.  i,  2;  Mars  Silvanus  cf.  ibid.  LXXXIII : 
**  earn  rem  diuinam  uel  seruus  uel  liber  licebit  faciat." 


I 


90 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[90 


on  the  principle  that  slaves  were  ready  to  steal  whenever  an 
opportunity  offered,  and  this  assumption  of  the  thieving, 
deceitful  qualities  of  slaves  as  a  class  runs  all  through  the 
comedies.  There  are,  however,  in  the  same  comedies  strik- 
ing instances  of  faithful  attachment  of  slaves  to  their  mas- 
ters and  of  real  affection  between  them,  and  doubtless  such 
case5  were  not  uncommon.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  slaves 
J  were  probably  not  in  general  badly  treated,  and  could  look 
i  forward  to  obtaining  their  freedom  and  to  being  given  a 
start  by  their  master  if  they  had  served  him  faithfully/ 
i  Not  only,  as  has  been  noted,  the  self-interest  of  the  mas- 
ters would  insure  their  slaves  a  certain  degree  of  considera- 
tion and  make  them  refrain  from  excessive  harshness  which 
would  impair  the  health  and  therefore  the  value  of  their 
property,  but  also  philosophy  was  gradually  introducing 
broader  and  more  humane  ideas  in  counter-distinction  to 
the  old  conception  of  the  slave  as  a  thing.  Only  in  a  state 
of  societv  which  had  alreadv  felt  these  ideas  would  a  slave, 
as  in  the  Asinaria  of  Plautus  (489-90),  be  able  to  say  to  a 
man  of  higher  station:  ''Tom  ego  homo  sum  quam  tu," 

^  Plaut.  Asin.  256-7,  272:  '' illic  homo  aedis  compilauit,  more  si  fecit 
sua"  cf.  Afranius  Talio,  Ribb.  Frag.  Corn.  p.  207:  *'Uos  quibus  cordi 
est  intra  tunicam  manus  laeua  [at]  dextra  in  erile  pcnum!'  For  in- 
stances of  attachment  of  slave  cf.  Messenio  in  the  Menaechmi, 
Tyndaris  in  the  Captivi,  Geta  in  the  Adelphoe. 


CHAPTER  V 


Freedmen  and  Clients 

The   term  "  clientship "   was  originally  applied   to  the 
hereditar}'  legal  relations  between  a  poor  citizen  and  a  richer 
and  more  influential  man  to  whom  he  had  bound  himself  for 
protection  by  ties  of  mutual  obligation.     Slaves  who  had 
been  liberated,  also  became  the  clients  of  their  former  master. 
Marquardt  remarks  that  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Republic 
the  class  of  clients  in  the  original  sense  of  the  word  was 
extinct.     Only   freedmen   still  composed  it,  and  the  term 
patronus,   which   originally   was  contrasted   with   that   of 
clkns,  had  come  to  apply  exclusively  to  the  enfranchising 
master.'    While  it  is  true  that  the  great  majority  of  clients 
were  now  freedmen,  there  is  evidence  that  traces  of  the  old 
legal  clientship  still  survived.     Even  later  in  the  Republic 
Caius    Herennius,    when    summoned    as    witness    agamst 
Marius,  claimed  that  he  could  not  legally  give  such  evidence 
as  Marius  was  a  client  of  his  family,  and  his  claim  was 

allowed." 

Where  the  terms  clieiis  or  patronus  are  used  in  Plautus 
and  Terence,  it  is  not  in  every  case  possible  to  distinguish 

1  Marquardt,  Vie  privee  des  R.,  vol.  i,  p.  239. 

^Plut  Marius  5  cf.  Cato  Orat.  reliq.  XLI.  i.  ed.  Jord.  p.  59:  ''quod 
maiores  sanctius  habuere  defendi  pupillos  quam  clientem  non  fallere. 
aduersos  cognatos  pro  cliente  testatur,  testimonium  aduersus  clientem 
nemo  dicit.  patrem  primum,  postea  patronum  proxxmum  no  men  ha- 
buere'';  Bruns,  Fontes  luris  Romani,  p.  24,   Tab.  V.  8;   p.   33,  Tab. 

VIII.  21. 

1  91 

91] 


90 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[90 


on  the  principle  that  slaves  were  ready  to  steal  whenever  an 
opportunity  offered,  and  this  assumption  of  the  thieving, 
deceitful  qualities  of  slaves  as  a  class  runs  all  through  the 

.comedies.  There  are,  however,  in  the  same  comedies  strik- 
ing instances  of  faithful  attachment  of  slaves  to  their  mas- 
ters and  of  real  affection  between  them,  and  doubtless  such 
cases  were  not  uncommon.    As  a  matter  of  fact  the  slaves 

jwere  probably  not  in  general  badly  treated,  and  could  look 
forward  to  obtaining  their  freedom  and  to  being  given  a 

^  start  by  their  master  if  they  had  served  him  faithfully/ 

1  Not  only,  as  has  been  noted,  the  self-interest  of  the  mas- 
ters would  insure  their  slaves  a  certain  degree  of  considera- 
tion and  make  them  refrain  from  excessive  harshness  which 
would  impair  the  health  and  therefore  the  value  of  their 
property,  but  also  philosophy  was  gradually  introducing 
broader  and  more  humane  ideas  in  counter-distinction  to 
the  old  conception  of  the  slave  as  a  thing.  Only  in  a  state 
of  society  which  had  already  felt  these  ideas  would  a  slave, 
as  in  the  Asinaria  of  Plautus  (489-90),  be  able  to  say  to  a 
man  of  higher  station:  '^Tam  ego  homo  sum  quam  tu." 

^  Plaut.  Asin.  256-7,  272:  "  illic  homo  aedis  compilauit,  more  si  fecit 
sua  "  cf.  Af  ranius  Talio,  Ribb.  Frag.  Com.  p.  207 :  "  Uos  quibus  cordi 
est  intra  tunicam  manus  laeua  [at]  dextra  in  erile  penum."  For  in- 
stances of  attachment  of  slave  cf.  Messenio  in  the  Menaechmi, 
Tyndaris  in  the  Captivi,  Geta  in  the  Adelphoe. 


CHAPTER  V 
Freedmen  and  Clients 

The   term  "  clientship "   was  originally  applied   to  the 
hereditan-  legal  relations  between  a  poor  citizen  and  a  richer 
and  more  influential  man  to  whom  he  had  bound  himself  for 
protection  by  ties  of  mutual  obligation.     Slaves  who  had 
been  liberated,  also  became  the  clients  of  their  former  master. 
Marquardt  remarks  that  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Republic 
the  class  of  clients  in  the  original  sense  of  the  word  was 
extinct.     Only   freedmen  still  composed  it,  and  the  term 
pafronus,   which   originally   was  contrasted   with   that   of 
clkns,  had  come  to  apply  exclusively  to  the  enfranchising 
master.'    While  it  is  true  that  the  great  majority  of  clients 
were  now  freedmen,  there  is  evidence  that  traces  of  the  old 
legal  clientship  still  survived.     Even  later  in  the  Republic 
Caius    Herennius,    when    summoned    as    witness    against 
Marius,  claimed  that  he  could  not  legally  give  such  evidence 
as  Marius  was  a  client  of  his  family,  and  his  claim  was 

allowed.^ 

Where  the  terms  cHens  or  patronus  are  used  in  Plautus 
and  Terence,  it  is  not  in  every  case  possible  to  distinguish 

»  Marquardt,  Vie  privee  des  R.,  vol.  i,  p.  239. 

'Plut.  Marius  5  cf.  Cato  Orat.  reliq.  XLI.  i.  ed.  Jord.  p.  59:  ''quod 
maiores  sanctius  hahuere  defendi  pupillos  quam  clientem  non  fallere. 
aduersos  cognatos  pro  cliente  testatur,  testimonium  aduersus  clientem 
nemo  dicit.  patrem  primum,  postea  patronum  proxtmum  nomenha- 
buere";  Bruns,  Fontes  luris  Romani,  p.  24,  Tab.  V.  8;  p.  33,  Tab. 
VIII.  21. 

91]  '' 


92 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[92 


the  relationship  implied.  In  the  Adelphoc  of  Terence  is 
an  instance  which  may  possibly  represent  hereditary  client- 
ship.  Here  the  widow  and  daughter  of  a  citizen,  f>eople  of 
humble  position  and  limited  means,  have  suffered  an  in- 
justice. Their  slave  appeals  for  help  on  their  behalf  to 
Hegio  with  the  words:  ''In  te  spes  omnis,  Hcgio,  nobis 
sitast:  tc  solum  hahemus,  tu  es  patronus,  tu  pater:  ille  tibi 
moriens  nos  commendauit  senex:  si  deseris  tu,  periinius/' 
To  this  Hegio  replies :  ^'  Cane  dixeris:  neque  faciam  neque 
me  satis  pie  posse  arbitror  '\  Later  on,  however,  the  dead 
father  is  mentioned  as  the  friend  and  contemporary  of 
Demea,  the  father  of  the  culprit,  and  as  the  relative  (cog- 
natus)  of  Hegio.  The  exact  status  of  Hegio  as  a  protector, 
therefore,  is  not  clear.  As  a  cognatus,  he  would  naturally 
have  certain  rights  and  duties  towards  the  wife  and  child! 
of  his  relative,  and  as  a  patronus  it  would  also  be  his  place 
to  protect  them.  It  is  possible  that  the  slave  in  making  his 
appeal  for  aid,  uses  the  expression  ''  tu  es  patronus  "  simply 
to  give  force  to  his  words.^ 

In  the  Rudens  of  Plautus  Daemones  rejoices  in  the  fact 
of  having  acquired  two  clients  in  the  shipwrecked  maidens 
whom  he  protects  from  the  leno,  saying:  ''Bene  factum 
et  uolup  est  me  ho  die  his  mulicrculis  tetulisse  auxilium. 
ia^t  clientes  repperi/'  As  these  maidens  are  in  a  foreign 
territory  in  which  they  have  no  legal  rights,  the  relation- 
ship here  is  based  wholly  on  the  question  of  protection.  In 
Terence  in  the  Eunuchus  Thais  commends  herself  to  the 
father  of  her  lover,  and  the  formal  expression  is  used: 
''Se  commendauit,  in  clientelam  et  iidem  nobis  dedit  se,"  ^ 

In  freeing  a  slave  the  master  became  his  patronus.  The 
former  slave  was  now^  called  libertus  or  liber t inns,  and  Livy 

*  Ter.  Ad.  455-9,  465-6,  494. 

'  Plaut.  Rud.  892-3 ;  Ter.  Run.  1039-40. 


93] 


FREEDMEN  AND  CLIENTS 


93 


uses  the  expression  ''  aliens  Hbertinus '' }  Suetonius  states 
that  in  the  time  of  Appius  and  for  some  time  subsequently  the 
word  Hbertinus  was  applied  not  to  those  who  were  them- 
selves emancipated  but  to  their  children,  but  if  the  condi- 
tion described  by  Suetonius  did  exist,  it  is  not  found  in 
Plautus.  In  Plautus  the  word  Hbertinus  is  distinctly  ap- 
plied to  the  liberated  slave.  Moreover,  after  the  second 
Punic  War  the  children  of  freedmen  w^ere  allowed  to  wear 
the  bulla,  which  was  worn  only  by  pueri  ingenui} 

The  ties  of  mutual  obligation  betw^een  master  and  freed- 
man  and  between  patron  and  client  are  now  so  closely  con- 
nected that  they  may  be  considered  as  a  whole.  In  freeing 
a  slave  the  master,  as  has  been  said,  became  the  patronus 
and  still  retained  the  right  to  certain  services  from  the 
libertus.^  It  was  customary  to  him  to  make  some  provision 
for  the  future  of  the  libertus,  and  he  might  even  loan  or 
give  him  a  certain  capital  although  there  was  no  legal  obli- 
gation to  make  such  provision."*     The  libertus  frequently 

'  Liv.  XLIII.  16.  4. 

'  Suet.  Claud.  24:  **  tern  paribus  Appi  et  deinceps  aliquandiu  Ubertinos 
dictos  non  ipsos,qui  manu  emitterentur,sed  ingenuos  ex  his  procreatos." 
Plaut.  Mil.  Glor.  961-3:  '^  ingenuan  an  festuca  facta  e  serua  liberastf  \ 
,..uah!  egone  ut  ad  te  ah  lihertina  esse  auderem  internuntius,  \  qui 
ingenuis  sati'  responsare  nequeas  quae  cupiunt  tui?'*  Macrob.  Sat. 
I.  6.  14. 

^  Sohm,  op.  cit.,  p.  170,  points  out  that  as  manumission  was  regarded 
as  a  kind  of  new  birth,  the  master  (patronus)  stood  to  his  freedman 
in  a  relation  analogous  to  the  relation  between  father  and  son.  On 
the  question  of  the  duties  of  the  freedman  towards  his  patron  cf. 
Karlowa,  op.  cit.,  vol.  ii,  p.  142,  et  seq.:  (i)  obsequium,  (2)  operae, 
(3)  bona. 

*  Ter.  Ad.  979-81:  "  siquidem  porro,  Micio,  \  tu  iuom  officium  fades, 
atque  huic  aliquid  paulum  prae  manu  \  dederis,  unde  utatur,  reddet  tibi 
cito";  Plaut.  Epid.  726-7:  **  tibi  dabo  . . .  liberatatem.  at  postea?  \  nouo 
liberto  opus  est  quod  papet.  dabitur,  praebebo  cibum'*;  Cure.  547-8: 
"nee  mihi  quident  libertus  ullust.  faci'  sapientius  \  quam  pars  lenonum, 
libertos  qui  habent  et  eos  deserunt." 


94 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[94 


continued  his  accustomed  functions  as  personal  attendant 
of  the  master  or  serv^ed  him  as  manager  of  some  business 

enterprise/ 

If  the  client  did  not  live  in  the  house,  he  came  each  morn- 
ing to  pay  hi?  respects  and  inquire  after  the  patron's  health; 
he  consulted  him  about  all  his  affairs,  even  the  marriage  of 
his  children ;  -  and  in  case  the  patron  was  fined,  the  clients 
contributed  towards  the  amount,  sometimes  so  generously 
that  in  the  case  of  Lucius  Scipio  ''  so  large  a  contribution 
was  made  by  his  relations,  friends,  and  clients  that,  if  he 
had  accepted  it,  he  would  have  been  much  richer  than  before 
this  misfortune."  ^ 

The  patron  in  return  looked  after  the  legal  interests  of 
his  client  and  refrained  from  giving  testimony  against  him. 
For  these  judicial  services  he  was  not  expected  to  receive 
any  pecuniary  reward.*  The  recognized  force  of  the  bond 
between  cliens  and  patronus  is  significantly  indicated  in 
Plautus  by  the  matter-of-fact  assumption  that  the  request 
of  a  patronus  is  ''  tarn  .  .  .  in  procliui  qtiam  imher  est 
qiiando  pi  nit/' " 

In  168  B.  C.  freedmen  were  enrolled  in  the  four  city 
tribes,  but  those  who  had  a  son  over  five  years  old  were 
given  the  political  privilege  of  being  rated  in  the  tribe  in 
which  they  had  been  enrolled  at  the  time  of  the  previous 


^  Plaut.  Men.  1032-4:  '^sed,  patrone,  te  opsecro,  |  ne  minus  imperes 
mihi  quam  quom  tuos  seruos  fui.  |  apud  ted  habitabo  et  quando  ibis, 
una  tecum  ibo  domum";  Ter.  And.  35,  et  seq.',  Plut.  Cat.  maj.  21: 
'*  he  [Cato]  made  those  who  wished  to  borrow  money  form  themselves 
into  an  association  of  fifty  persons . . .  and  held  one  share  in  the  under- 
taking himself,  which  was  managed  by  the  freedman  Quintio." 

2  Plaut.  Pers.  78;  Plut.  Cat.  maj.  24. 

»Liv.  XXXVIII.  60.  9. 

*  Plaut.  Men.  580,  et  seq. ;  Plut.  Marius  5 1  Liv.  XXXIV.  4.  9- 

^  Plaut.  Capt.  335-6. 


g^-j  FREEDMEN  AND  CLIENTS  95 

census,  and  those  who  had  a  farm  in  the  country  which  was 
worth  more  than  30,000  HS.  were  allowed  to  be  included 
in  the  country  tribes.  Freedmen  might  be  called  on  for 
service  in  the  navy  under  free-born  officers,  and  in  217  B. 
C.  in  the  levy  of  a  new  army  at  Rome  after  Trasimene, 
Livy  tells  us  that  freedmen  who  had  children  and  were  of 
military  age,  had  taken  the  military  oath.^ 

The  prominent  men  of  the  time  were  already  surround- 
ing themselves  more  and  more  with  large  numbers  of  de- 
pendents, whom  they  attached  to  themselves  by  their  gener- 
osity and  protection.  The  character  of  the  client  became  a 
minor  consideration.  Plautus  puts  in  the  mouth  of  one  of 
one  of  his  characters  a  satirical  reflection  on  these  changing 
conditions :  "  What  a  foolish  and  bothersome  custom  we 
have!  And  the  richer  and  more  prominent  a  man  is,  the 
more  he  follows  it.  Everyone  wants  a  great  crowd  of 
clients !  Whether  these  clients  are  reputable  or  disreputable, 
that  makes  not  a  particle  of  difference."  ' 

The  throng  of  clients  included  still  another  class:  the 
literary  men  who  attached  themselves  to  some  great  man 
as  hangers-on  and  enjoyed  his  patronage.  As  example  of 
this  is  Ennius,  who  became  the  client  of  M.  Fulvius  Nobilior. 
Naturally  a  literary  man  who  was  thus  connected  with  a 
distinguished  house,  not  only  turned  his  talents  more  or  less 
to  the  praise  and  glorification  of  his  patron  but  was  in- 
fluenced as  well  in  the  expression  of  his  opinions  by  the 
views  of  his  lord.  In  this  form,  therefore,  clientship  was 
extremely  important,  as  the  patrons  through  their  control 

^Liv.  XLV.  15.  I,  2;  XL.  18.  7,  XLII.  27.  3;  XXII.  11.  8.  Although 
the  manumitted  slave  at  Rome  became  a  citizen,  he  did  not  have  full 
rights.    Cf.  Sohm,  op.  cit.,  p.  170;  Girard,  op.  cit.,  pp.  124-5. 

^  Plaut.  Men.  571,  et  seq. 


96 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[96 


97] 


of  the  literary  men  gained  a  certain  amount  of  control  over 
public  opinion.^ 

In  many  cases  the  slaves  who  has  obtained  their  freedom 
made  undesirable  citizens  who  brought  into  civil  life  habits 
of  idleness  and  unreliability,  such  citizens  as  Plautus  pict- 
ures in  the  Persa,  the  Poennlus,  and  the  Menaechmi,  men 
who  had  but  recently  given  up  their  pcculium  in  order  to 
be  counted  as  citizens,  and  who,  rendered  arrogant  by  their 
unaccustomed  independence,  feared  nothing  so  much  as  to 
be  mistaken  for  slaves;  men  who  except  perhaps  on  the 
occasion  of  an  invitation  to  dinner,  refused  to  hurry,  no 
matter  how  important  the  business  on  which  they  were  sum- 
moned, on  the  ground  that  "  it  befits  a  freeman  to  walk 
through  the  city  at  a  moderate  pace  ...  it  is  the  part  of 
a  mere  slave  to  tear  along  at  full  speed."  Lazy  and  quarrel- 
some, they  haunted  the  courts,  and  Plautus  humorously 
describes  them : 

^Aul.  Gell.  XII.  4  gives  a  passage  from  Ennius  describing  a  typical 
friend  of  such  a  great  lord: 

"  haece  locutus  uocat,  quocum  bene  sacpe  libetiter 
mensam  sermonesque  suos  rerumque  suarum  » 

comiter  inpertit,  magnum  cum  lassus  did 
partem  fuisset  de  summis  rebus  regundis 
consilio  indii  foro  lato  san-ctoque  senatu; 
cui  res  audacter  magnas  paruasque  iocumque 
eloqueretur  et  -f-  cuncta  tnalaque  et  bona  dictu 
euomeret,  si  qui  uellet,  tutoque  locaret, 
quocum  multa  uolup  <.ac^  gaudia  clamque  palamque; 
ingeniu}n,  cui  nulla  malum  sententia  suadet 
ut  fareret  f acinus  leuis  aut.malus;  doctus,  Melis, 
suauis  homo,  facundus,  suo  contentus,  beatus, 
scitus,  secunda  loquens  in  tempore,  commodus,  uerbum 
paucum,  multa  tenens  antiqua  sepulta,  uetustas 
quem  facit  et  mores  ueteresque  nouosque  tenentem, 
multorum  ueterum  leges  diuumque  hominumque; 
prudenter  qui  dicta  loquiue  tacereue  posset: 
hun£  inter  pugnas  conpcllat  Seruilius  sic.*' 


FREEDMEN  AND  CLIENTS 

"  nam  istorum  nullus  nefastust:  comitialcs  sunt  meri; 
ibi  habitant,  ibi  eos  conspicias  quam  praetorem  saepiusj' 

{Poen.  584,  et  seq.) 


97 


The  ambitions  of  the  time  for  commercial  aggrandizement, 
for  palatial  residences,  for  throngs  of  slaves,  naturally  be- 
came the  ambitions  of  the  freedman  himself.  Forgetful  of 
his  own  recent  servitude  or  desirous  of  enjoying  for  him- 
self the  feeling  of  owner  rather  than  chattel,  he  aimed  with- 
out being  over-scrupulous  as  to  the  means  of  acquisition, 
at  the  goal  expressed  by  Gripus,  the  slave  of  the  Rudens: 

"  iam.  ubi  liber  ero,  igitur  demum  instruam  agrum  atque  aedis,  mancupl^ 
nauibu'  magnis  mercaturam  faciam,  apud  reges  rex  perhibebor."  ^ 

^  Plaut.  Pers.  838-9,  Poen.  515,  et  seq.,  Men.  580,  et  seq.,  Rnd.  930,  etseq. 


■1 


I 


99] 


FINANCE  AND  INDUSTRY 


99 


CHAPTER  VI 


Finance  and  Industry 


In  his  discussion  of  the  question  whether  or  not  Plautus 
presents  to  his  audience  the  outward  conditions  of  Roman 
Hfe,  Sellar  remarks  that  ''  the  only  differences  in  station 
lamong  his  personages  are  those  of  rich  and  poor,  free  and 
'slave.  There  is  no  recognition  of  those  great  distinctions 
of  birth,  privilege,  and  political  status  which  were  so  per- 
vading a  characteristic  of  Roman  life."  ^ 

Far  from  being  a  strong  proof  that  the  comedies  do  not 
portray  the  environment  of  the  poet,  however,  the  very  em- 
phasis on  this  dis^^inction  is  a  striking  reflection  of  the 
changing  economic  conditions  in  Rome  at  the  time.  The 
political  contrast  of  patrician  and  plebeian  had  disappeared, 
but  there  was  fast  growling  up  in  the  state  a  contrast  equally 
sharp  betwxen  rich  and  poor.  The  period  is  marked  by  a 
I  pronounced  development  of  commerce  and  trade  and  of 
speculation  on  a  large  scale,  and  in  consequence  by  the 
steadily  increasing  importance  of  a  class  of  wealthy  men 
engaged  in  such  enterprises. 

\In  all  matters  pertaining  to  money  the  Roman  attitude 
was  Qne  of  the  utmost  accuracy  and  precision.  This  was 
carried  so  far  that,  as  Polybius  tells  us,  "  no  one  will  pay  a 
single  talent  before  the  appointed  day;  so  excessively  par- 
ticular are  they  about  money  and  so  profitable  do  they  con- 
sider time."  ^    Not  only  did  this  exactness  call  forth  a  reg- 


^  Sellar,  Roman  Poets,  p.  169. 

»Polyb.  XXXII.  13. 
98 


[98 


ular  system  of  banking,  but  also  each  individual  kept  his  pri- 
vate account,  ratiuncula,  which  included  such  items  as  the 
amount  on  hand  at  the  bankers,  the  sums  which  had  been 
lent  out  or  borrowed,  the  expenditure  for  provisions,  and 
the  like.^ 

Little  ready  money  was  kept  in  the  house.^  Instead  it 
was  deposited  either  in  a  temple  ^  or  with  the  professional 
bankers,  argentarii,  and  withdrawn  in  varying  amounts  as 
it  was  needed.  The  business  methods  of  the  bankers  were 
similar  in  some  respects  to  the  modern,  and  careful  records 
were  kept  of  deposits,  withdrawals,  transfers,  and  interest 
due.'*  It  was  not  necessary  for  a  depositor  to  draw  out  the 
actual  money  and  pay  it  over  in  order  to  discharge  an  obli- 
gation unless  he  wished,  as  he  could  give  a  scriptum  which 
apparently  corresponded  to  the  modern  check.  ^  A  business 
device  similar  to  our  promissory  note  also  existed.®  In 
some  transactions  the  man  would  simply  leave  instructions 
with  his  banker,  who  then  paid  over  the  money  to  the  other 
party  when  it  was  called  for  and  entered  the  transfer  on  his 
records.^ 

The  most  important  activity  of  the  argentarius  was  the 
loaning  of  money  at  interest.     The  financial  responsibility 

^  Plaut,  Capt.  192-3:  "ibo  intro  atque  intus  subducam  ratiunculam '* ; 
Cure.  371-4:  "  subduxi  ratiunculam  j  quantum  aeris  mihi  sit  quantumque 
alieni  siet";  True.  740;  Cato  R.  R.  II.  5:  "  rationes  putare  argentariam.'* 

'  Plaut.  Asin.  116,  Aul.  580,  et  seq.,  Bace.  1060. 

'Deposits  of  money  in  temples:  Plaut.  Aul.  580,  et  seq.,  608,  et  seq., 
Bacc.  312-3 :  "  ibidem  publicitus  seruant." 

*  Plaut.  Aul.  527:  "  putatur  ratio  rum  argentario" ;  Epid.  53-4; 
Polyb.  XXXII.  13. 

'Plaut.  Trin.  982:  "  fassu's  Charmidem  dedisse  aurum  tibi.  scrip  turn 
quidem  " ;  Cure.  345-7. 

*  Plaut.  Asin.  439,  et  seq.:  ** priu'quae  credidi,  uix  anno  post  exegi;  [ 
nunc  sat  agit:  adducit  domum  etiam  ultro  et  scribit  nummos." 

'Polyb.  XXXII.  13. 


lOO 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[lOO 


of  would-be  borrowers  was  carefully  examined,  and  the 
place  of  the  modern  mercantile  agency  with  its  credit  lists 
was  filled  to  some  extent  by  individual  initiative.  In  case  a 
person  had  been  found  to  be  a  bad  risk,  a  warning  was 
circulated  through  the  city  advising  people  not  to  trust  him 
if  he  tried  to  arrange  for  a  loan/  The  rates  of  interest 
were  very  often  usurious,  and  attempts  were  made  by  the 
state  to  check  this  by  severe  laws,  by  which,  for  example,  a 
usurer  was  compelled  to  pay  four  times  the  sum,  whereas  a 
thief  was  fined  only  twice  the  value  of  the  stolen  article.^ 
These  laws,  however,  continued  to  be  evaded  or  broken  by 
the  argcntarii,  who  regarded  them  as  "  boiling  water  that 
soon  cools  off."  A  method  which  was  practised  to  escape 
the  legal  restrictions  imposed,  was  to  transfer  the  money 
through  one  of  the  allies  who  were  not  subject  to  the  law 
of  Rome,  and  this  practice  became  such  a  crying  evil  that 
in  193  B.  C.  it  was  decreed  that  all  financial  business  within 
the  peninsula  be  subject  to  Roman  law/ 

The  low  esteem  in  which  the  argentarii  were  held,  involv- 
^ing  the  general  opinion  of  their  untrustworthiness,  is  not 
only  expressed  by  Cato,  but  runs  all  through  the  comedies. 
We  are  told  that  when  money  has  been  entrusted  to  an 
argentariuSy  he  "  flees  from  the  forum  more  quickly  than  a 
hare  when  it  is  let  out  at  the  games  "  or  than  "  a  carriage 
wheel  turns  at  full  speed  " ;  that  it  is  better  to  be  "  forno 
occcnsos  quarn  foro^  and  so  on.*     The  frequency  of  the 

*  Plaut  Pseud.  303-4:  '*  annorum  lex  me  perdit  quinauicenaria.  \ 
metuont  credere  omnes";  Merc.  51-2:  "  conclamitare  iota  urbe  et 
praedicere  |  omnes  tenerent  tnutuitanti  credere." 

«Cato  R.  R.  Praef.  i:  "  ita  in  legibus  posiuerunt,  furem  dupli  con- 
demnari,  faeneratorem  quadrupli"  cf.  Plaut.  Poen.  184,  1351. 

"Plaut.  Cure.  511,  377-9;  Liv.  XXXV.  7.  1-5. 

*Cato  Mem.  Diet.  63,  ed.  Jord.  p.  108:  ''quid  fenerarif  turn  Cato, 
quid  hominem,  inquit,  occidereT  Plaut.  Pers.  435-6,  442-3,  Cure.  506-8, 
Epid.  119  cf.  Cure.  376- 79»  679-85. 


lOl] 


FINANCE  AND  INDUSTRY 


lOI 


references  to  the  bankers  is  a  proof  of  their  importance 
and  of  the  prominent  part  which  they  played  in  the  daily 
life  of  the  city,  and  the  apparent  immunity  with  which  they 
continued  to  evade  the  laws  is  evidence  of  their  power. 

The  four  most  usual  investments  for  the  rich  apart  from 
that  of  loaning  money  at  high  interest  are  given  by  Plautus  : 
public  work,  maritime  commerce,  trade  {mercattira),  or 
slave-traffic.^  Polybius  gives  an  account  of  the  system  of 
getting  public  work  done  by  contract.  These  contracts, 
which  were  awarded  by  the  censors  and  were  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  Senate,  provided  not  only  for  such  important 
matters  as  the  collection  of  revenue  and  the  construction  of 
buildings  but  also  for  the  restoration  and  repair  of  temples, 
of  aqueducts  and  sewers,  the  paving  of  streets,  and  other 
matters  of  the  kind  extending  even  to  minor  details  like  the 
erection  of  iron  gates  in  the  Circus.'  Contracts  were  also 
awarded  for  the  equipment  of  the  army,  and  in  these  agree- 
ments the  transporting  of  the  supplies  was  at  the  risk  not  of 
the  contractor  but  of  the  state.  That  the  censor  did  not 
award  all  public  contracts  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the 
contract  for  supplies  for  the  army  in  ^lacedonia  was 
awarded  by  the  praetor.^ 

Companies  were  formed,  and  the  ramifications  of  con- 
tract work  were  so  widely  extended  that  nearly  all  persons 
in  the  state  were  in  some  way  interested,  either  as  contrac- 
tors themselves,  as  securities  for  the  contractors,  or  as  em- 
ployes in  the  work.''    In  general  the  contracts  were  awarded 

*  Plaut.  Trin.  331-2:  "  publicisne  adHnis  fuit  an  maritumis  negotiis?  | 
mercaturam  an  tienalis  hahuit?  "  cf.  Riid.  930,  et  seq. 

'Polyb.  VI.  17;  Liv.  XXXII.  7.  3  (portoria),  XLII.  19.  1-2  (revenue 
of  ager  Campanus)  cf.  Plaut.  True.  143,  et  seq.  (scriptura).  Variety 
of  contracts  awarded  by  censors:  Liv.  XXXIX.  44.  5,  et  seq.,  XL. 
51.  2,  et  seq.,  XLI.  27.  5,  et  seq. 

'Liv.  XXIII.  49.  2,  XXV.  3.  10,  XLIV.  16.  4. 

*  Polyb.  VI.  17. 


102 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[l02 


on  extremely  profitable  terms.  €ato  in  his  censorship 
farmed  out  the  different  branches  of  the  revenue  at  wtn 
high  prices  and  ''  bargained  with  the  contractors  for  the 
performance  of  the  public  services  on  the  lowest  terms/' 
but  he  was  exceptional  in  his  strictness.  Even  under  him, 
when  certain  government  contractors  discovered  that  an 
unprofitable  contract  had  been  awarded  them,  they  were 
powerful  enough  to  persuade  the   Senate  to  re-open  the 

bidding/ 

The  collection  of  the  various  revenues  was  the  most  im- 
portant function  of  the  puhlicani  (state  contractors)  and 
one  in  which  they  employed  a  host  of  subordinates.  The 
customs  dues  which  were  levied  everywhere  throughout  the 
Roman  dominions,  were  farmed  out  by  the  censors  for  the 
various  places."  In  187  B.  C.  when  permission  was  granted 
to  the  Ambracians  of  levying  ''  what  duties  (portoria)  they 
thought  proper  on  goods  conveyed  by  land  or  sea,"  it  was 
stipulated  that  the  Romans  and  the  Latin  allies  should  be 
exempt  from  them,  but  in  179  B.  C.  many  port  duties  and 
customs  were  established,^  and  it  is  evident  from  the  come- 
dies that  the  portoria  were  in  full  force  in  the  time  of  Plau- 
tus  and  Terence.* 

The  customs  officials  were  evidently  quite  as  troublesome 
as  those  of  to-day,  or  even  more  so.  They  closely  inspected 
everything  that  was  brought  in;  opened  sealed  letters  to 
make  sure  that  they  contained  nothing  contraband ;  and  sub- 
jected people  to  a  searching  cross-examination.  The  very 
name  portitor  was  so  significant  of  pertinacious  questioning 

^Liv.  XXXIX.  44.  7;  Plut.  Cat.  maj.  19. 

2  Liv.  XXXII.  7.  3 :  "  they  also  farmed  the  port-duties  at  Capua, 
and  at  PuteoH,  and  of  the  fort  situated  where  the  city  now  stands." 

»Liv.  XXXVIII.  44.  4,  XL.  51.  8. 

*Plaut.  Men.  117-8,  Asin.  241-2,  Stick.  366,  Trin.  794-5;  Ter.  Phorm. 
150,  cf.  Caec.  Stat.  Hypoholimaeus  Aeschinus,  Ribb.  Frag.  Com.  p.  51- 


103] 


FINANCE  AND  INDUSTRY 


103 


that  in  the  Menaechmi  of  Plautus  a  husband,  complaining 
of  the  curiosity  of  his  wife  as  to  his  most  trifling  actions, 
exclaims :  "  I  have  married  a  portitor — I  have  to  tell  her  all 
my  business,  everything  I  have  done  and  everything  I  am 
doing."  ^ 

The  collection  of  the  revenue  from  the  public  lands  also 
offered  a  large  field  of  activity  to  the  publicani,^  Plautus 
satirizes  their  collection  of  the  scrip tura,  the  quota  paid  by 
the  occupants  on  their  herds,  but  he  comments  as  well  upon 
the  landholders  themselves.  While  the  puhlicani  are  '^  pei- 
iuriosi/'  on  the  other  hand  if  the  occupants  of  the  land  have 
managed  their  affairs  badly  and  have  not  the  wherewithal 
to  pay  the  scriptura,  they  blame  the  fhiblicani  anyway,  and 
it  is  a  question  which  to  prefer.^ 

The  public  lands  were  regarded  as  a  good  investment  by 
the  wealthy,  and  their  hold  upon  them  was  steadily  develop- 
ing. In  196  B.  C.  the  aediles  had  fined  several  farmers  of 
state  pasturage,  pecuarii,*  but  conditions  were  changing. 
By  173  B.  C.  private  individuals  in  Campania,  for  example, 
had  gradually  extended  their  bounds  so  as  to  include  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  public  lands,  and  the  State  was  appar- 
ently unable  to  oppose  them  effectively,  or  even  force  them 
to  accept  an  indemnity  in  exchange  for  the  land  as  author- 
ized by  the  Senate.^     The  acquiescence  of  the  state  shows 

*  Plaut.  Trin.  794-5 :  "  apud  portitores  eas  resignatas ...  1  inspec- 
tasque";  Men.  117-8. 

*  Liv.  XLII.  19.  1-2. 

*  Plaut.  True.  I43»  ^t  seq. 

*  Liv.  XXXIII.  42.  10. 

*Liv.  XXVII.  3.  I,  XLII.  I.  6,  9-  7,  19.  1-2.  Cic.  de  Leg.  agrar.  IL 
30.  82:  "quod,  cum  a  maiorihus  nostris  P.  Lentulus  in  ea  loca  missus 
esset  ut  priuatos  agros,  qui  in  publicum  Campanuvt  incurrebant,  pecunia 
publico  £Oemeret,  dicitur  renuntiasse,  nulla  se  pecunia  fundum  cuiusdam 
emere  potuisse:  eumque,  qui  nollet  uendere,  ideo  negasse  se  adduci 
posse,  uti  uenderet." 


I04 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[104 


clearly  the  influence  which  had  been  acquired  by  the  capi- 
talists. 

An  attempt  at  repression  was  made  in  169  B.  C.  by  an 
edict  that  no  tax-farmer  nor  contractor  for  public  works  at 
the  previous  lustrum  should  be  admitted  to  the  auctions  of 
that  year,  nor  even  be  allowed  an  interest  in  them  as  share- 
holder. The  cause  of  the  piiblicani,  however,  was  upheld 
by  the  tribune  P.  Rutilius  Rufus,  who  proposed  that  the 
awards  made  by  the  censors  should  be  annulled.  When  the 
censors  attempted  to  combat  this  proposal,  a  charge  of 
perdtcellio  was  brought  against  them.  They  were  acquitted, 
but  the  power  of  the  picblicani  and  the  risk  incurred  by  any- 
one interfering  with  their  speculations  is  shown  by  the  pos- 
sibility of  such  a  charge  being  brought.'  Another  proof  of 
the  strong  position  they  held  is  found  in  the  fact  that  even 
w^hen  the  Senate  was  aware  of  fraudulent  practices  to  cheat 
the  state,  no  official  action  was  taken  to  check  them,  as  ''the 
fathers  were  unwilling  that  any  offense  should  be  given  to 
the  order  of  revenue  farmers  while  affairs  were  in  such  a 

state."  ' 

The  second  form  of  investment  suggested  by  Plautus. 
marine  commerce,  while  recognized  as  extremely  lucrative 
and  one  in  which  a  man  might  quadruple  his  fortune,  was 
also  regarded  as  very  precarious.  The  number  and  strength 
of  the  pirates  w^ho  swarmed  on  the  seas  was  the  greatest 
source  of  danger,  and  during  the  wars  with  Carthage  there 
was  the  additional  risk  of  being  captured  by  the  enemy's 
fleet.' 

iLiv.  XLIIL  16.  I,  et  seq. 

•'  Liv.  XXV.  3-  12. 

'Cato  Praef.  i,  3:  "  praestare  mercaturis  rem  quaerere,  nisi  tarn 
periculosum  sit . . .  mercatorem  autem  strenuum  stiidiosumque  rei  quae- 
rendae  existimo,  uerum  . . .  periculosum  et  calamitosum  " ;  Plaut.  Stick. 
402,  et  seq.:  '' quadruplicauit  rem  meam";  Trin.  1087-9,  -^*^.  G^^^- 
117-8;  Liv.  XXII.  II.  6. 


105] 


FINANCE  AND  INDUSTRY 


IQ: 


At  the  beginning  of  the  Punic  wars  Roman  merchants 
exported  goods  to  some  extent,'  but  as  time  wxnt  on  atten- 
tion became  largely  devoted  to  the  importation  of  pro- 
visions, owing  in  part  to  the  decline  in  the  supply  of  grain 
produced  in  Italy  and  in  part  to  the  rapid  increase  of  the  city 
population.  The  import,  in  fact,  was  sometimes  so  large, 
and  the  prices  in  consequence  so  cheapened  that  the  unfor- 
tunate merchant  would  willingly  "  surrender  the  corn  to 
the  mariners  for  the  freight."  ^ 

As  the  hazards  of  marine  commerce  made  it  unwise  for 
an  individual  to  sink  all  his  capital  in  a  single  vessel,  asso- 
ciations were  frequently  formed  to  divide  the  risk.  In  such 
an  organized  society  of  navigation  the  shareholders  united 
and  constructed  a  number  of  vessels  at  common  expense.^ 
In  this  way  the  liability  was  divided,  and  the  chances  of  loss 
were  accordingly  diminished. 

This  maritime  trade  was  almost  exclusively  in  the  hands 
of  the  knights.  Senators  and  sons  of  senators  were  de- 
barred from  engaging  openly  in  such  enterprises,  as  by  the 
lex  Claudia  of  218  B.  C.  they  were  forbidden  to  have  at  sea 
a  vessel  of  more  than  three  hundred  amphoras,  a  tonnage 
sufficient  only  for  the  transport  of  the  products  of  their 
own  estates.*  It  is  probable  that  this  law  was  not  always 
observed,  however,  and  by  the  time  of  Cicero  it  was  en- 
tirely dead.^ 

It  was  not  only  the  wealthier  class  with  their  enterprises 

^  Polyb.  I.  83. 

2  Liv.  XXIL  37.  6,  XXX.  26.  6,  XXXL  4.  6;  XXXL  50.  i:  cheapness 
of  provisions  cf.  XXX.  ^S.  5. 

'Plut.  Cat.  maj.  21. 

*Liv.  XXL  63.  3-4:  lex  Claudia. 

*  Cic.  in  Verr.  IL  v.  18.  45 :  "  ne  quacram,  qui  licuerit  aediUcare  nauem 
senatori.  Antiquae  sunt  istae  leges,  et  mortuae  quemadmodum  tu  soles 
dicere,  quae  uetant.** 


io6 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[io6 


on  a  large  scale  who  were  interested  in  foreign  trade.  There 
were  also  a  number  of  citizens  of  moderate  fortune  who 
recognized  the  advantages  of  traffic  abroad.^  Even  soldiers 
in  the  armies,  who  obtained  leave  of  absence  while  the 
forces  were  in  winter  quarters,  *'  generally  carried  money 
in  their  purses  for  the  purpose  of  trading."  ^ 

Retail  trade  and  handicrafts  were  regarded  by  the  upper 
classes  at  Rome  with  prejudice,  and  the  work  was  in  many 
cases  in  the  hands  of  f  reedmen  or  of  slaves  who  carried  it 
on  for  the  profit  of  their  master.  Certain  artes  were  dis- 
tinguished as  artes  ludicrae,  which  apparently  referred  to 
such  modes  of  livelihood  as  that  of  the  dancer,  the  juggler, 
and  the  actor.  ^ 

A  highly  developed  tendency  towards  specialization  of 
labor  and  concentration  of  attention  upon  artistic  work- 
manship is  evident  in  the  comedies.  The  character  of  the 
plays  as  a  source  naturally  lays  particular  stress  upon  the 
specialization  among  workers  in  cloth  and  articles  of  cloth- 
ing and  adornment.  We  hear  of  different  cloth-workers  as 
the  fullones  (fullers),  the  linteones  (linen-workers),  the 
lanarii  (wool-workers),  the  tcxtores  limhularii  (fringe- 
makers);  of  experts  in  various  dyes  (infectores) ,  as  the 
violet-dyers  {violarii)  and  the  dyers  of  different  shades  of 
yellow  {carinarii,  molocinarii,  corcotarii),  of  makers  of 
special  parts  of  the  costume  as  the  ilammarii  (veil-makers), 
the  mamdearii  (muff-makers),  the  caupones pafagiarii  (bor- 
der-makers), the  2onarii   (girdle-makers);  of  makers  of 

*  Plaut.  Stick.  402,  et  seq.,  Merc.  74-7 :  "  agrum  se  uendidisse  atque 
ea  pecunia  |  nauim  . . .  parasse  atque  ea  se  mercis  uectatum  undique,  \ 
adco  dum,  quae  turn  haberet,  peperisset  bona**;  Rud.  930,  et  seq. 

*Liv.  XXXIII.  29.  4. 

•Plaut.  Aul.  626-7:  "  coepit  artem  facere  ludicram  \  atque...  emi- 
care";  praestrigiator:  Aul.  630,  Poen.  1135;  praestigiatrix :  Amph.  782; 
ludius:  Aul.  402. 


107] 


FINANCE  AND  INDUSTRY 


107 


special  varieties  of  foot-gear,  as  the  calceolariiy  the  sutores 
diabathrarii,  the  solearii;  of  the  supellex  pellionis  ( furrier)  ; 
and  so  on.^ 

However,  from  the  mention  in  metal-work  of  the  gold- 
smith, the  lead-worker,  the  maker  of  jewel-caskets,  and 
from  the  mention  in  pottery-  of  the  ampullarius,  we  may 
infer  that  the  same  movement  extended  also  to  other  fields 
of  production.  Among  the  list  of  trades  and  to  give  some 
idea  of  their  scope  and  variety  may  be  mentioned  the  mate- 
riarius  (timber-merchant),  the  lignariMs  (carpenter),  the 
ungnentarius  (dealer  in  unguents),  the  holitor  (kitchen- 
gardener),  the  haiiolus  (porter),  the  cetarius  (fish-monger), 
the  fart  or  (poulterer),  the  ninarius  (wine-merchant),  the 
scutariUrS  (shield-maker),  the  restio  (rope-maker)  and  the 
uitor  ( basket-maker ) . - 


^  Plaut.  Aul.  508,  et  seq. 


'  Stat  fullo,  phyrgio,  aurufex,  lanarius; 
caupones  patagiarii,  indusiarii, 
Hammarii,  uiolarii,  carinarii; 
aut  manulearii,  aut  tnurobatharii, 
propolae  linteones,  calceolarii; 
sedentarii  sutores  diabathrarii, 
solearii  astant,  astant  molocinarii; 
petunt  fullones,  sarcinatores  petunt; 
strophiarii  astant,  astant  semul  aonarii. 
iam  hosce  apsolutos  censeas:  cedunt,  petunt 
treceni,  quom  slant  thylacistae  in  atriis 
textores  limbularii,  arcularii. 


in  fee  tores  corcotarii." 
Cf.  Mil.  Glor.  691,  et  seq.,  Epid.  222,  et  seq. ;  supellex  pellionis:  Men.  404. 
*  Aurufex:  Plaut.  Aul.  508,  Men.  525.;  worker  in  lead:  Cato  R.  R. 
XXI.  5;  arcularius:  Plaut.  Aul.  519.;  anipullarius :  Rud.  75^;  mater- 
iarius:  Mil.  Glor.  920;  lignarius:  Liv.  XXXV.  41.  10;  unguentarius : 
Poen.  703  cf.  myropola:  Trin.  408,  Cas.  238;  holitor:  Trin.  408,  Mil. 
Glor.  193;  baiiolus:  Poen.  1301,  1354;  cetarius:  Ten  Eun.  257;  fartor: 
Ter.  Eun.  257,  Plaut.  True.  104;  uinarius:  Poen.  838,  Asin.  436; 
scutarius:  Epid.  27;  restio:  Most.  884;  uitor:  Rud.  990  cf.  Don.  ad 
Ter.  Eun.  IV.  4.  21. 


io8 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME  • 


[io8 


There  were  also  certain  trades  existent  at  Rome  at  this 
time  which  deserve  special  mention  because  of  their  recent 
innovation  and  their  interest  as  a  direct  outgrowth  of 
changing  conditions.  Shipbuilding  had  not  been  carried  on 
extensively  by  the  Romans  until  the  Punic  wars  brought  the 
need  of  a  navy,  but  the  careful  and  detailed  description 
given  in  one  of  the  comedies  of  the  entire  construction  of 
a  vessel  shows  that  knowledge  of  this  field  of  labor  must 
already  have  become  so  current  that  its  terms  were  intelli- 
gible to  the  audience/ 

Although  barbers,  tonsores,  had  been  brought  in  from 
Sicily  in  300  B.  C,  they  were  not  much  patronized.  Some 
of  the  younger  generation  might  adopt  the  practice  of  being 
shaved  daily,  but  the  more  conservative  Romans  still  kept 
to  the  custom  of  beard  and  undipped  hair.'  As  a  strag- 
gling, unkempt  beard,  however,  was  regarded  as  slovenly, 
there  was  some  call  even  among  them  for  the  services  of 
the  tonsor.^  The  tonsor  also  included  in  his  functions  the 
care  of  the  nails.* 

Public  cooks  who  hired  out  their  services  for  the  prep- 

^  Plaut.  Mil.  Glor.  915-21 :  "...  ubi  probus  est  architectus, 
bene  lineatam  si  semel  carinatn  conlocauit, 
facile  esse  naitem  facere,  ubi  fundata,  constitutast. 
nunc  haec  carina  sati'  probe  fundata,  [et]  bene  statutast, 
adsunt  fabri  architectique  <iadsunt^  ad  earn  hand  inperiti. 
si  non  nos  materiarius  remoratur,  quod  opus<^t'^qui  det 
(noui  indolem  nostri  ingeni),  cite  erit  parata  nauis" 

'Plin.  H.  N.  VII.  59  (59).  211:  *'in  Italiatn  ex  Sicilia  uenere  [ton- 
sores]  post  Roman  conditam  anno  CCCCLIIII  adducente  P.  Titinio 
Mena . . .  antea  intonsi  fuere.  Primus  omnium  radi  cotidie  instituit 
Africanus  sequens."  Hor.  Od.  II.  15.  11 :  "intonsi  Catonis";  Plaut. 
Capt.  266-7: 

"  nunc  senex  est  in  tostrina,  nunc  iam  cultros  adtinet. 
ne  id  quidem,  inuolucre  inicere,  uoluit,  uestem  ut  ne  inquinet" 

*  Liv.  XXVII.  34.  6 :  "  tonderi  et  squalorem  deponere." 

*  Plaut.  Aul.  312-3:  "  quin  ipsi  pridem  tonsor  unguis  dempserat: 

conlegit,  omnia  apstulit  praesegmina** 


109]  FINANCE  AND  INDUSTRY  109 

aration  of  banquets  were  coming,  with  the  growth  of  luxury, 
to  hold  an  important  place  in  the  life  of  the  day/  The  in- 
dustry of  public  baking  was  introduced  into  Rome  in  174 
B.  C.  According  to  Pliny  the  name  pistores  was  applied 
only  to  those  men  ''  qui  far  pisebant/'  but  in  the  time  of 
Plautus  there  were  merchants  at  Rome  who  sold  bread  and 
were  called  pistores.^ 

Different  branches  of  business  were  each  concentrated  in 
a  special  locality.  The  forum  was  the  great  center  of  activ- 
ity, and  the  bankers  carried  on  their  financial  transactions 
there,  back  of  the  temple  of  Castor.  The  first  basilica  was 
constructed  by  Cato,  censor  in  184  B.  C,  another  by  the 
censors  M.  Fulvius  and  M.  AemiHus  Lepidus  in  179  B.  C, 
and  still  another,  the  Basilica  Sempronia,  in  169  B.  C. 
While  these  buildings  were  especially  for  the  use  of  the 
tribunals,  they  were  also  used  to  a  large  extent  by  the  mer- 
chants and  bankers.^  Various  shops  were  located  in  the 
forum  in  the  Tabemae  Veteres  and  Tabemae  Novae.*  For 
the  provision  merchants  there  were  for  a  time  separate  f ora 
for  the  several  kinds  of  goods,  such  as  the  forum  hoarium 
or  cattle-market,  the  forum  olitorium  or  vegetable-market, 

^  For  public  cooks  see  chapter  on  "  Slaves." 

'Plin.  H.  N.  XVIII.  II.  (28).  107:  "pistores  Romae  non  fuere  od 
Persicum  usque  bellum  annis  ab  urbe  condita  super  DLXXX.  ipsi 
panem  faciebant  Quirites,  mulierumque  id  opus  maxime  erat . . .  artoptas 
iam  Plautus  appellat  in  fabula,  quam  Aululariam  inscripsit,  [Aut.  400] 
magna  ob  id  concertatione  eruditorum,  an  is  versus  poetae  sit  illius 
. . .  pistoresque  tantum  eos,  qui  far  pisebant,  nominatos.*'  Plaut.  Asin. 
200-1 :  "  quom  a  pistore  panem  petimus,  ...\si  aes  habent,  dant  mer- 
cem  " ;  Trin.  407,  Cure.  483, 

»  Plaut.  Cure.  481 :  "  pone  aedem  Castoris,  ibi  sunt  subito  quibu'credas 
male:'  Bankers  in  forum:  cf.  Pers.  435-6,  Asin.  116-7,  Cure.  480. 
Construction  of  Basilicas:  Porcia:  Liv.  XXXIX.  44-  7;  Plut  Cat.  maj. 
19;  of  Basilica  Fulvia  and  Aemilia:  Liv.  XL.  51.  4;  of  Basilica  Sem- 
pronia: Liv.  XLIV.  16.  10.    Plaut.  Cure.  an2\  ''sub  basilica". 

*  Plaut.  Cure.  480:  ''sub  ueteribus";  Liv.  XXVI.  27.  2. 


no 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[no 

and  the  forum  piscatorium  or  fish-market,  but  all  these  were 
later  brought  together  in  one  place,  called  the  macellum, 
built  in  179  B.  C.  by  M.  Fulvius  Nobilior.  All  goods 
offered  for  sale  in  the  market  were  closely  inspected  by  the 
aediles,  and  any  not  up  to  the  standard  were  barred  out/ 
In  the  Velabrum  were  the  pis  fores,  the  lanii,  and  the  ole- 
aril;  ^  outside  the  Porta  Trigemina  the  carpenters.^ 

Industrial  guilds  of  various  kinds  had  existed  from  very 
early  times,  and  combines  among  the  merchants  of  a  guild 
to  maintain  a  fixed  price  in  restraint  of  trade  were  not  un- 
common in  spite  of  the  laws  against  such  coalitions.  Plau- 
tus  humorously  alludes  to  this  practice  by  the  complaint  he 
puts  in  the  mouth  of  Ergasilus  in  the  Captivi:  "  I  went 
first  to  one  man,  then  to  another,  then  to  still  another ;  the 
same  thing  everywhere!  They  all  do  business  by  mutual 
agreement  like  the  oil-merchants  in  the  Velabrum."  *  It 
has  been  established  as  probable  that  in  the  present  period 
the  method  of  organization  into  collegia  had  extended  even 
to  the  professional  cooks,-  but  the  price  for  their  services 
varied  according  to  their  ability. 


^  Forum  boarium:  Liv.  XXL  62.  3,  XXXIII.  27.  4;  forum  olitorium: 
Liv.  XXI.  62.  3,  XXXIV.  53.  3;  forum  piscatorium:  Liv.  XL.  51.  5; 
Plaut.  Cure.  474.  Macellum:  Ter.  Eun.  255  cf.  Plaut.  Pseud.  790,  Rud. 
979-80:  "  quom  extemplo  in  macello  pisces  prolati  stent,  \  nemo  emat." 
cf.  Pseud.  169,  Aul  27Z^  et  seq.;  Varro  L.  L.  V.  146-7:  "Forum  Boar- 
ium, Forum  Olitorium, . . .  Piscarium  . .  Cuppedinis . . .  Haec  omnia 
posteaquam  contracta  in  unum  locum  quae  uictum  pertinebant  et  aedi- 
^atus  locus,  appellatum  Macellum.''  cf.  Miiller's  Handbuch,  vol.  iii, 
sec.  ii,  pp.  192-3,  p.  310.  Plaut.  Rud.  372-3 :  "  quamuis  fastidiosus  \ 
aedilis  est:  quae  inprobae  sunt  merces,  iactat  omnis." 

'Plaut.  Capt.  489:  "in  Velabro  olearii" ',  Cure.  483:  "in  Velabro  uel 
pistorem  uel  laniuni  uel  haruspicem." 

*Liv.  XXXV.  41.  10:  "extra  portam  Trigeminam  inter  lignarios." 

*  Plaut.  Capt.  488,  et  seq. 

*Harcum,  Roman  Cooks  (Baltimore.  1914),  pp.  16-17:  the  assumption 
is  based  upon  an  inscription  C.  /.  L.  XI.  3078.    This  inscription  states 


III] 


FINANCE  AND  INDUSTRY 


III 


Business  associations  and  partnerships  were  common, 
and  the  system  of  contracting  which  was  employed  on  a 
large  scale  for  public  work  was  also  much  used  for  private 
transactions.  The  owner  of  the  farm,  for  example,  was 
careful  to  leave  a  written  list  of  those  matters  for  which 
contracts  were  to  be  awarded  or  taken.  These  contracts  in- 
cluded such  matters  as  building  and  construction  work, 
gathering  the  olive  crop,  burning  lime,  and  the  like.^  Nat- 
urally not  all  mercantile  transactions  were  on  a  cash  basis, 
and  among  responsible  business  men  a  credit  system  on 
large  purchases  existed.^  Business,  both  public  and  private, 
was  carried  on  by  sealed  tablets,  and  the  receptacles  in  which 
wares  were  stored  were  also  sealed  and  inscribed  with  the 
name  of  the  owner.  ^ 

Sales,  auctiones,  were  held  then  as  now  to  dispose  of  a 
house  or  its  furnishings  or  other  articles  for  which  the 
owner  no  longer  had  a  use  or  on  which  he  wished  to  realize 
money  without  delay.    A  crier  was  sent  out  to  make  procla- 

that  a  gift  was  presented  to  Jupiter,  Juno,  and  Minerva  by  a  conlegium 
of  FaHscan  cooks  who  were  then  in  Sardinia.  As  the  language  dates 
it  as  far  back  as  the  time  of  Plautus,  it  is  a  proof  "that  cooks  were 
of  considerable  importance  in  other  parts  of  Italy  besides  Rome,  and 
hence  also  in  that  city  by  his  time." 

^  Cato  R.  R.  II.  6 :  "  quae  opus  sint  locato,  locentur:  quae  opera  fieri 
uelit  et  quae  locari  uelit,  uti  imperet  et  ea  scripta  relinquat " ;  ibid.,  XIV 
"  uillam  aediUcandam  si  locabis  nouam  ab  solo."  Plaut.  Most.  915 
"  bene  res  nostra  conlocata  est  istoc  mercimonio."  Cato  R.  R.  CXLIV 
"  oleam  legendam  hoc  niodo  locare  oportet**;  CXLV:  "  oleam  faciundam 
hac  lege  oportet";  XVI. 

'  Plaut.  Pseud.  301 :  "  erne  die  caeca  hercle  oliuom,  id  uendito  oculata 
die." 

"Plaut.  Cure.  551-2:  " stultior  stulto  fuisti  qui  is  tabeUis  crederes  | 
quis  res  publico  et  priuata  geritur,  nonne  is  crederem"?  cf.  Pers.  248, 
Mil.  Glor.  130,  Trin.  788-90,  Bacc.  7^S  gives  the  implements  of  letter- 
writing:  "stilum,  ceram  et  tabellas,  Unum"',  Poen.  836-7:  "ibi  tu  uideas 
litteratas  Hctilis  epistulas,  \  pice  signatas,  nomina  insunt  cubitum  longis 
litteris,"  cf.  Rud.  4/8. 


1 1 2  SOCIAL  AND  PRIVA  TE  LIFE  A  T  ROME  [112 

mation  of  the  event  throughout  the  city,  and  it  was  also  an- 
nounced by  conspicuous  posters.  The  man  with  something 
to  sell,  whether  a  residence  at  auction  or  a  jar  of  wine  in 
some  dark  wine-shop,  was  fully  alive  to  the  value  of  the 
modem  slogan,  "  It  pays  to  advertise/*  This  is  shown  in 
the  loud  proclamations  and  prominent  posters  and  in  the 
cubit-tall  inscriptions  of  the  earthen  vessels  from  which  the 
purchaser  might  choose  his  favorite/ 

With  similar  appreciation  of  the  value  of  publicity,  notices 
of  articles  lost  and  found  were  also  posted.  In  Plautus  we 
find  a  slave  proclaiming  in  the  following  words  his  good 
intentions  in  the  matter  of  the  well^filled  purse  he  has 
found :  '*  I  will  advertise  everywhere  in  letters  a  cubit  high 
that  if  anyone  has  lost  a  wallet  containing  a  large  sum  in 
gold  and  silver,  he  can  apply  to  Gripus  for  it.''  ^ 

^AucHones:  Cato  R.  R,  II.  7;  Plaut.  Epxd.  235,  Poen.  1421,  Stick. 
201-4  ^f-  193-5'  "  M^  mores  harharos  |  discam  atque  ut  faciam  praeconis 
compendium  \  itaque  auctionem  praedicere"  cf.  Men.  1 155-6,  Poen. 
II,  et  seq.;  Trin.  168:  '*  aedis  uenalis  hasce  inscribit  litteris";  Ter. 
Heaut.  144-5.  Plaut.  Poen.  83^7:  '' nomina  insunt  cubitum  longis 
Utterisr 

2  Plaut.  Rud.  1294-6. 


CHAPTER  VII 

Religion 

A  general  survey  of  the  religious  attitude  of  this  period 
is  significant  in  view  of  the  many  changes  which  were  in 
progress.  Sayous  in  his  Essai  sur  rhistoire  de  la  religion 
romaine  pendant  les  guerres  puniques  gives  an  interesting 
interpretation  of  the  official  attitude.     He  says : 

Ce  meme  instinct  politique  du  Senat  romain  qui  lui  conscillait 
d'associer  les  traditions  helleniques  a  la  grandeur  romaine,  lui 
suggerait  I'idee  d'ouvrir  de  nouvelles  portes  a  Fambition  de  la 
cite  par  Tintroduction,  dans  la  cite,  de  religions  nouvelles.  Les 
deux  choses  se  tenaient,  sans  que  Ton  s'en  rendit  bien  comptc : 
aller  chercher  des  dieux  plus  loin,  c  etait  se  preparer  dc  plus 
lointaines  conquetes.^ 

The  Roman  religion  had  begun  to  admit  the  mystic  cults 
of  the  Orient  before  the  end  of  the  third  century  B.  C. 
Cybele,  the  Magna  Mater,  brought  by  the  Senate  from 
Phrygia  in  Asia  Minor,  had  been  installed  with  great  pomp 
in  204  B.  C.  This  was  done  in  the  period  of  tension  near 
the  close  of  the  war  with  Hannibal  in  accordance  with  the 
advice  of  the  Sibylline  books  that  ''quandoque  hostis  alieni- 
gena  terrae  Italiae  helium  intuUsset,  eum  pelli  Italia  uincique 
posse,  si  Mater  Idaea  a  Pessinunte  Ronton  aduecta  foret.*' 
The  goddess,  represented  by  a  meteorite,  was  placed  tem- 
porarily in  the  temple  of  Victor>^  on  the  Palatine,  but  soon 

*  Sayous,   Essai  sur   I'histoire   de   la   religion   romaine   pendant   les 
Sfuerres  puniques  (Paris,  1887),  p.  74. 

113]  "3 


114 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[114 


after  a  temple  was  built  for  her.  From  the  beginning  a 
priest  and  priestess  of  Phrygia  were  attached  to  the  temple 
on  the  Palatine.  It  was  ordered  by  a  senattis  cofisultum, 
however,  that  no  Roman  should  take  part  in  her  service.^ 

Another  foreign  worship  and  one  which  became  especially 
popular,  was  that  of  Dionysus,  the  Bacchanalia.  This  cult 
was  brought  to  Etruria  by  a  Greek  priest,  and  penetrating 
from  there  to  Rome,  quickly  increased  the  number  of  its 
proselytes  until  they  reached  over  seven  thousand.  The 
highly  emotional  character  of  the  worship  contained  many 
features  repulsive  to  the  more  conservative  part  of  the 
population,  however,  and  in  186  B.  C.  it  was  officially  sup- 
pressed by  the  Senate  as  a  source  of  danger  to  the  state. 
The  decree  nevertheless  permitted  that  if  anyone  had  vowed 
to  perform  Bacchanalia,  he  should  have  the  privilege  under 
certain  restrictions.*  Livy  in  his  report  of  the  events  lead- 
ing up  to  this  decree  gives  a  vivid  account  of  the  excesses  of 
the  devotees.  Some  of  the  disturbances  to  which  he  refers, 
such  as  the  "crep^itibus  etimn  ululatihusqiie  nocturnisj'  were 
indisputable,^  but  in  forming  an  opinion  one  must  make 
allowances  for  the  canonical  Roman  attitude  towards  secret 
religions  of  any  kind  and  remember  that  much  the  same 
charges  of  immorality  were  later  brought  against  Chris- 
tianity. 

^Liv.  XXIX.  10,  14;  XXXVI.  36.  3  (191  B.  C);  Graillot,  Le  Culte 
de  Cybele  (Paris,  1912),  p.  74;  cf.  Fowler,  The  Religious  Experience 
of  the  Roman  People  (London,  191 1),  p.  330;  Sayous,  op.  cit.,  p.  7S. 

'Liv.  XXXIX.  8,  et  seq.,  17.  6:  "  £oniurasse  supra  septem  milia 
uirorum  ac  mulierum  dicebantur'' ;  18.  8-9:  "si  quis  tale  sacrum  sol- 
lemne  et  necessarium  duceret,  nee  sine  religione  et  piaculo  se  id 
omittere  posse,  apud  praetorem  urbanum  proHteretur,  praetor  senatum 
consuleret;  si  ei  permissum  esset,  cum  in  senatu  centum  non  minus  esset, 
ita  id  sacrum  faceret,  dum  ne  plus  quinque  sacriHcio  interessent,  neu 
qua  petunia  communis  neu  quis  magister  sacrorum  aut  sacerdos  esset** '^ 
cf.  C.  I.  L.  I.  196. 

'  Liv.  XXXIX.  15.  6. 


115]  RELIGION  112 

In  Plautus  there  is  amusing  reference  to  the  conduct  of 
the  worshipers.  A  husband,  returning  home  with  his  cloak 
and  staff  missing,  attempts  to  satisfy  the  questions  of  his 
spouse  by  stammered  pleas  of  "the  Bacchae  ...  the  Bac- 
chae!"  To  this  the  good  lady  scornfully  and  not  very 
politely  answers :  ''  That's  all  nonsense  and  you  know  it, 
for  there  are  no  Bacchae  ranging  abroad  nowadays — I'll 
take  oath  to  that."  ^ 

A  little  later  apparently  the  cult  of  Isis  and  Serapis  ap- 
peared. They  are  known  to  have  been  introduced  into 
South  Italy  in  the  first  half  of  the  second  century  B.  C.  at 
the  latest,  but  it  is  not  certain  that  they  were  actually  pres- 
ent in  Rome  at  this  time.  Duruy  accepts  their  presence 
there,  basing  his  conclusion  on  a  passage  from  Valerius 
Maximus  which  speaks  of  an  order  of  the  Senate  in  the 
consulship  of  L.  Aemilius  Paulus  to  destroy  the  temples  of 
Isis  and  Serapis.  This  text  would  of  course  be  conclusive 
if  the  consul  mentioned  were  positively  identified,  but  there 
were  three  consuls  of  this  name,  and  the  passage  of  Vale- 
rius Maximus  seems  to  allude  rather  to  events  of  the  fol- 
lowing centur}^  Cicero  cites  verses  from  Ennius  in  support 
of  his  general  protest  against  all  diviners  of  poor  quality 
and  low  standards,  but  the  quotation  from  the  earlier  writer 
apparently  does  not  begin  until  after  the  phrase  of  Cicero 
dealing  with  ''  Isiacos  coniectores."  ^  Lacking  explicit 
proof,  therefore,  we  can  only  conclude  that  while  a  temple 
to  these  deities  may  not  have  actually  existed  in  Rome  at 
this  time,  there  was  one  by  the  following  century,  and  that 

^  Plaut.  Cos.  975,  et  seq.  cf.  Ennius,  Athamas,  Ribb.  Frag.  Trag. 
pp.  28-9. 

2  Laf aye,  Histoire  du  culte  des  divinites  d'Alexandrie  (Paris,  1884), 
p.  40,  et  seq.,  cf.  C.  I.  L.  I.  577;  Duruy,  History  of  Rome  (Boston,  1890), 
vol.  ii,  sec.  i,  p.  297,  cf.  Val.  Max.  I.  3.  3  who  apparently  alludes  to 
events  described  by  Dio  Cass.  XL.  47  (52  B.  C.)  ;  Cic.  de  Divin.  I.  58. 
132;  Sayous,  op.  cit.,  p.  75, 


ii6 


SOCIAL  AND  FRIGATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[Il6 


in  any  case  a  number  of  Romans  must  have  been  acquainted 

with  the  cult. 

In  addition  to  the  introduction  of  such  foreign  deities 
the  traditional  Roman  religion  was  being  undermined  by 
the  growth  of  skepticism.  The  philosophic  teachings  of  the 
time  contributed  much  to  this  movement,  especially  those  of 
Cameades.  Not  only  the  doctrines  of  this  man  were  in 
themselves  of  a  character  to  do  this,  but  what  was  of  greater 
importance,  his  marked  and  lasting  popularity  at  Rome  and 
the  large  audiences  who  crowded  to  hear  him,  served  to 
give  those  doctrines  wide  currency.  The  Romans  them- 
selves came  to  recognize  the  destructive  effects  of  his  teach- 
ings upon  the  old  religion,  and  in  the  following  century 
Cicero  refers  to  him  as  follows:  ''  perturbatricem  autem 
hurutn  omnium  return  Academiam,  hanc  ab  Arcesila  et  Car- 
neade  recentem,  exoremus  ut  sileat;  nam  si  inuaserit  in 
hacc,  quae  satis  scite  nobis  instructa  et  composita  uidentur, 
yniseras  edet  ruinas^  ^ 

A  conception  of  the  skepticism  he  must  have  fostered  in 
the  minds  of  his  hearers  may  be  gained  from  a  considera- 
tion of  some  of  the  points  he  expounded.  First  by  showing 
that  all  the  forms  under  which  we  think  of  God  are  impos- 
sible, he  established  that  His  existence  cannot  be  asserted. 
He  then  attacked  the  polytheistic  views  by  maintaining  that 
if  certain  deities  are  accepted,  other  and  quite  ridiculous 
things  must  also  be  accepted  as  deities,  reasoning  for  ex- 
ample that  "  if  Zeus  is  a  God,  ...  his  brother  Poseidon 
must  likewise  be  one,  and  if  he  is  one,  the  rivers  and  streams 
must  also  be  Gods.  If  Helios  is  a  God,  the  appearance  of 
Helios  above  the  earth,  or  day,  must  be  a  God ;  and,  conse- 
quently, month,  year,  morning,  midday,  evening,  must  all 
be  Gods."    Cameades  also  attacked  divination.    He  proved 


*  Cic.  de  Leg.  I.  13-  39- 


117] 


RELIGION 


117 


that  no  peculiar  range  of  subjects  belonged  to  it,  but  that  in 
all  cases  where  professional  judgment  is  possible,  that  of 
experts  is  superior  to  that  of  diviners.  "  To  know  acci- 
dental events  beforehand,"  he  claimed,  "is  impossible:  it 
is  useless  to  know  those  that  are  necessary  and  unavoidable, 
nay,  more,  it  would  even  be  harmful."  He  further  main- 
tained that  no  causal  connection  can  be  conceived  between 
a  prophecy  and  its  realization,  and  when  the  Stoics  pointed 
to  fulfilled  prophecies,  replied  that  the  coincidence  was 
accidental,  and  that  many  such  stories  were  doubtless  false.' 

Such  ideas  attacked  the  very  foundations  of  religion  and 
cult,  and  in  addition  the  rhetorical  and  argimientative  abil- 
ity which  enabled  him  to  uphold  the  affirmative  or  negative 
of  a  proposition  with  equal  strength  was  confusing  to  the 
practical  Romans.  When  he  spoke  one  day  in  highest 
praise,  the  next  in  biting  criticism  of  justice,  Cato,  and 
doubtless  many  others  like  him,  were  bewildered.- 

Panaetius,  the  representative  of  the  Stoics,  also  fostered 
the  spirit  of  unbelief.  He  seriously  questioned  the  genuine- 
ness of  the  art  of  the  soothsayers  and  the  importance  of 
such  means  of  divining  the  will  of  the  gods  as  oracles, 
dreams,  and  prophecies.  Panaetius,  however,  did  not  carry 
his  doctrines  to  the  point  of  absolute  negation.^ 

Not  satisfied  with  the  natural  progress  made  by  foreign 
philosophy  in  Rome,  attempts  were  even  made  to  give  it  an 
artificial  impetus.  In  181  B.  C.  workmen  who  were  dig- 
ging at  the  foot  of  the  lanidilum,  found  two  stone  chests 
with  Greek  and  Latin  inscriptions.     One  of  these  chests 

>Zclkr,  Stoics,  Epicureans,  and  Sceptics  (London,  New  York.  1892), 
p.  546,  et  seq. 

»Cic.  de  Rep.  III.  6.  9. 

»Cic.  Acad.  pr.  II.  33-  107  cf.  de  Divin.  I.  3.  6:  ''nee  tamen  ausus  est 
negate  uim  esse  divinandi,  sed  dubitare  se  dixit"-,  II.  42.  88:  '' Fanaetius 
qui  unus  e  Stoicis  astrologorum  praedicta  reiecit" 


ii8 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[Il8 


purported  to  contain  the  ashes  of  the  ancient  king,  Numa 
Pompilius,  and  the  other  his  Hbrary.  The  books  were  con- 
veniently in  Greek  and  in  Latin  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
Romans  of  that  distant  time  were  ;iot  as  yet  famihar  with 
the  art  of  writing.  The  urban  praetor  read  the  works  and 
finding  them  strongly  Pythagorean  in  character,  reported 
them  to  the  Senate  as  dangerous.  By  formal  decree  they 
were  therefore  ordered  to  be  publicly  burned.^  Although 
the  effort  to  gain  official  sanction  for  their  Pythagorean 
ideas  had  failed,  the  well-planned  deception  is  an  interesting 
evidence  of  their  development. 

That  such  philosophic  teachings  as  those  of  Carneades 
found  enthusiastic  hearers,  that  the  literary  man,  Ennius, 
who  as  the  client  of  Marcus  Fulvius  Nobilior,  represented 
more  or  less  the  opinions  of  his  lord,  translated  a  work  like 
the  Sacred  Inscription  of  Euhemerus,  that  such  a  deliberate 
fraud  as  that  just  described  should  be  even  attempted,  all 
these  points  show  that  there  must  have  been  people  at  Rome 
who  were  interested  in  and  wanted  such  things.  It  is  prob- 
able, however,  that  the  movement  was  almost  ejcclusively 
confined  to  the  intellectuals,  and  that  the  masses  still  held, 
and  were  encouraged  to  hold,  the  old  beliefs.  In  fact  the 
very  men  who  themselves  questioned,  who  themselves  real- 
ized like  Publius  Scipio  the  futility  of  dream-omens  and 
the  like,  recognized  the  value  of  "  instilling  in  the  minds  of 
the  vulgar"  an  opinion  that  they  were  acting  on  some 
divine  suggestion  in  forming  their  designs.^ 

Polybius  gives  us  a  good  picture  of  the  Roman  attitude 
when  he  tells  us  that  scrupulous  fear  of  the  gods,  which  is 
looked  on  in  other  nations  as  a  reproach,  is  the  thing  that 
keeps  the  Roman  commonwealth  together.     This  is  carried 

*Liv.  XL.  29.  3-14. 
»  Polyb.  X.  2,  4,  5. 


119] 


RELIGION 


119 


to  such  an  extraordinary  height  in  private  and  public  busi- 
ness, he  says,  that  nothing  could  exceed  it.  The  object  is  to 
use  it  as  a  check  upon  the  multitude.  The  author  states  in 
conclusion,  however,  that  if  it  were  possible  to  form  a  state 
wholly  of  philosophers,  perhaps  the  custom  would  not  be 
necessary.'  This  utilitarian  attitude  towards  religion  was 
not  the  view  presented  by  the  Stoics  in  general.  It  must 
reflect,  therefore,  the  opinion  of  the  prominent  Romans 
with  whom  Polybius  was  in  such  close  contact. 

The  importance  which  was  attached  to  the  taking  of  aus- 
pices and  the  interpretation  of  omens  of  course  gave  rise  to 
great  numbers  of  soothsayers  and  prophets  of  all  kinds,  and 
it  is  not  surprising  that  the  sensible  practical  citizen  did  not 
take  seriously  the  more  palpable  frauds  among  them.  To 
question  the  authenticity  of  the  hnruspices  was  hardly  an 
evidence  of  irreverence.  Cato  himself,  who  openly  won- 
dered how  one  soothsayer  could  look  at  another  without 
laughing,^  is  careful  to  prescribe  in  his  De  re  rustics  the 
most  rigid  observance  of  the  traditional  rites. 

It  was  expected  that  the  commander  of  an  army  should 
obey  the  auspices.^  There  were  instances  of  open  indiffer- 
ence, it  is  true.  Flaminius  when  he  was  made  consul  in  217 
B.  €.,  did  not  take  the  regular  auspices  on  the  Capitoline 
nor  make  sacrifice  to  Jupiter  Latialis  on  the  Alban  Mount, 
but  went  at  once  to  join  the  army,  and  there  is  also  the 
well-known  incident  of  Publius  Claudius  Pulcher  who  threw 
the  sacred  pullets  into  the  sea  before  the  battle  of  Drepana.* 

1  Polyb.  VI.  56. 

«Cato  Mem.  Diet.  65,  ed.  Jord.  p.  109:  "  mirari  se  aiebat,  quod  non 
rideret  haruspex,  haruspicem  cum  uideret." 

» Cf.  Cato  Orat.  reliq.  I.  15,  ed.  Jord.  p.  35 :  "  postquam  auspicaui  atque 
exercitum  adduxi  pone  [uersus]  castra  hostium." 

*Liv.  XXI.  63.  5,  XXII.  I.  5-7;  Polyb.  I.  52  cf.  Suet.  Tib.  2.  The 
defeat  of  both  commanders  strengthened  the  popular  behef  in  the 
importance  of  the  auspices. 


I20 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[l20 


Much  the  same  sentiment  is  expressed  by  Fabius  Max- 
imus  in  the  words :  "  optimls  auspiciis  ea  geri,  quae  pro 
reipuhlicae  salute  gerentur;  quae  contra  rempublicam  fer- 
rentur,  contra  auspicta  ferri."  ^ 

The  general  rule  of  strict  outward  conformity  to  relig- 
ious laws,  however,  is  illustrated  in  the  story  of  Publius 
Scipio.  Scipio,  as  one  of  the  Salii  (one  of  the  three  colleges 
of  priests  by  whom  the  most  important  sacrifices  to  the 
gods  were  offered  at  Rome)  was  forbidden  to  leave  for 
thirty  days  the  spot  in  which  the  sacred  season  happened  to 
find  him.  The  time  arrived  just  as  the  army  was  on  the 
point  of  crossing  the  sea,  and  therefore,  as  we  are  told, 
Scipio  was  separated  from  the  legions ;  the>'  crossed  and  he 
remained  in  Europe,  and  "  the  army  .  .  .  could  take  no 
further  step,  because  they  were  waiting  for  him/'  ^ 

Sometimes  religious  restrictions  might  be  evaded  by  some 
expedient.  This  was  done  in  the  case  of  C.  Valerius  Flac- 
cus  who,  as  flamen  of  Jupiter,  was  forbidden  to  take  oath. 
He  was  designated  as  curule  aedile,  and  therefore  the  Sen- 
ate and  people  granted  him  permission  to  have  a  proxy, 
agreed  upon  by  the  consuls,  swear  in  his  place.' 

The  great  mass  of  people  still  took  care  to  observe  care- 
fully all  the  usages  of  the  ancient  faith.  The  comedies  of 
Plautus,  which  Colin  considers  so  markedly  indicative  of 
the  irreligious  spirit  of  the  time,*  on  the  contrary  are  full 
of  evidence  of  the  extent  to  which  religion  pervaded  the 
daily  life  of  the  average  citizen.  The  careful  greeting  of 
the  household  gods  before  setting  out  or  on  returning  from 

^  Cic.  de  Senect.  4. 

'  Polyb.  XXI.  13  cf.  the  strictness  in  religious  observances  remarked 
in  Aemilius  Paulus,  Plut.  Aem.  Paul  3,  6. 

»Liv.  XXXI.  50.  7,  et  seq. 

*  Colin,  Rome  et  la  Grhe  (Paris,  1905),  p.  343,  et  seq. 


/ 


121]  RELIGION  121 

a  journey,^  the  genuine  sorrow  with  which  the  youth  who 
is  leaving  his  home  forever,  bids  farewell  to  the  gods  of  his 
family  in  the  words :  ''  Di  penates  meum  parentum,  familiai 
Lar  pater,  vohis  mando  meum  po/rentum  rem  bene  ut  tute- 
mini.  Ego  rtiihi  alios  deos  penatis  persequar,  alium  La- 
rem/*  ^  the  sacrifices  to  the  Lares  of  lambs  and  swine,  their 
worship  with  wreaths,  flowers,  and  incense  are  apparently 
not  mere  formal  rites,  but  spring  from  a  fulness  of  belief  in 
the  gods  and  their  power.' 

One  is  especially  impressed  in  the  comedies  by  the  super- 
stitions which  swayed  the  minds  of  the  people.  A  religious 
significance  was  attached  to  the  sill  and  lintel  of  the  main 
door  of  the  house,  and  to  stumble  or  to  graze  one's  head 
was  an  ill-omen.*  For  a  strange  black  dog  to  enter  the 
house  was  unlucky,  and  black  in  any  case  was  a  sign  of 
bad  fortune  and  vice  versa. ^  Movements  of  various  parts 
of  the  body,  as  the  raising  of  the  eyebrow  or  the  itching  of 
the  shoulders,  were  prognostic.®  Not  only  the  evil  eye  but 
also  the  mala  manus  or  evil  hand  was  to  be  feared,  "  for 
whenever  someone  touches  you  with  the  evil  hand,  troubles 
begin."  ^  A  raven  at  the  right  or  a  woodpecker  or  a  crow 
at  the  left  was  a  good  omen,  but  on  the  other  hand  to  see  a 

*  Plant  Mil,  Glor.  1339,  Bacc.  170,  Stick,  534  cf.  Enn.  Ann.  Lib.  Inc. 
CXLI.  620.  ed.  Vahl.  p.  IJ5:  ''  uosque  lares  tectum  nostrum  qui  funditus 
curant" ;  Ter.  Phorm,  311. 

« Plant.  Merc.  834-6. 

» Plant.  Rud.  1206-8,  Trin.  39,  Aul.  23-5. 

*  Plant.  Merc.  830,  Cos.  815-6  cf.  Sextus  Turpilius  Faraterusa  VI 
(4),  Ribb.  Frag.  Com.  p.  106;  Novius  Maccus  Exul  II  (3),  Ribb. 
Frag.  Com.  p.  262. 

•Ter.  Phorm.  706;  Plant.  Poen.  969. 

*  Plant.  Pseud.  107,  Pers.  32,  A  sin.  2S9. 

^  Plant.  Cure.  180,  Amph.  605,  Pers.  313- 


122 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[l22 


raven  at  one's  left  portended  evil/    To  see  a  weasel  kill  a 
mouse  was  a  very  favorable  sign.^ 

The  belief  in  dreams  as  foretelling  future  events  was 
very  strong,  and  great  significance  was  attached  to  the  in- 
terpretation of  them  as  messages  from  the  gods/  Not  only 
public  auspices  were  taken,  but  at  this  time  private  auspices 
still  existed  and  were  often  consulted  before  individual  un- 
dertakings.* 

In  all  of  their  relations  w^ith  the  gods  the  Romans  were 
most  precise.  The  gods  were  addressed  according  to  set 
formulae ;  ^  specific  phrases  of  good  augury  were  used ;  ^ 
and  in  case  the  suppliant  was  in  doubt  as  to  the  name  of  the 
god  to  whom  he  should  make  his  request,  he  carefully  stip- 
ulated "  quisquis  es  "  for  fear  of  making  a  mistake  and 
angering  the  divinity.  So,  for  example,  in  Plautus  a  maiden 
prays:  "Quisquis  est  deu ,  u^neror  ut  nos  ex  hoc  aerumna 
eximat''  ^  Vows  to  the  gods  were  very  business-like,  and 
exact  stipulation  was  made  of  what  it  was  desired  the  god 
should  do  and  of  what  was  to  be  given  him  in  return.® 


*  Plaut.  Asin.  260,  Aul.  624,  Epid.  183-4. 

'  ■  2  Plaut.  Stick.  459-^- 

•  - 

'  Plaut.  Cure.  246-50,  Merc.  225,  et  seq.,  Mil.  Glor.  380,  et  seq.,  Rud. 
593,  et  seq.,  cf.  Polyb.  X.  4,  5. 

*Cato  Orat.  reliq.  XVIII.  I,  ed.  Jord.  p.  47'  "  domi  cum  auspicamus" 
cf.  Plaut.  Epid.  183-4.  Eers.  607,  Rud.  -Jil,  Asin.  259. 

^  Cato  R.  R.  CXXXIX,  CXLI ;  Plaut.  Merc.  830,  et  seq.,  Trin.  820. 

•  Plaut.  Poen.  16. 

'  Plaut.  Rud.  257  cf.  Cato  R.  R.  CXXXIX. 

^Liv.  XXXVI.  2.  3-5  gives  a  notable  illustration  of  this  precision: 
"  id  uottitn  in  haec  uerba  praeeunte  P.  Licinio  pontiHce  maximo  consul 
nuncupauit:  'si  duellum,  quod  cum  rege  Antiocho  sumi  populus  iussit, 
id  ex  sententia  senatus  populique  Romani  confectum  erit,  turn  tibi, 
luppiter,  populus  Romanus  ludos  magnos  dies  decern  continuos  faciei, 
donaque  ad  omnia  puluinaria  dabuntur  de  pecunia,  quantam  senatus 
decreuerit,  quisquis  magistratus  eos  ludos  quando  ubique  faxit,  hi  ludi 
recte  facti  donaque  data  recte  sunto. 


» >» 


123] 


RELIGION 


123 


To  consider  more  generally  the  religious  tone  of  the 
comedies  is  profitable  in  gaining  an  insight  into  the  mental 
attitude  of  the  people  who  witnessed  them.  Colin  objects 
that  Jupiter  is  treated  with  levity  in  the  Pseudolus  (840-2), 
where  a  vainglorious  cook  proudly  boasts  that  "  when  all 
my  stew-pans  are  boiling,  I  uncover  them  each  and  every 
one.  The  smell  flies  straight  up  to  heaven  —  why,  on  this 
smell  Jupiter  banquets  daily!"  Can  a  passage  of  this  kind, 
however,  which  is  not  taken  seriously  even  by  the  one  who 
utters  it,  counteract  the  impression  made  by  the  prologue  of 
the  Rude7is,  which  presents  Jupiter  with  a  majesty  almost 
monotheistic?^  The  same  idea  of  a  watchful  deity  who 
rewards  the  good  and  punishes  evil-doers  is  found  in  the 
Captim.' 

There  are  certain  passages  in  Plautus  which  might  be 
considered  irreverent,  as  when  Sosia  in  the  Amphitruo  sug- 
gests that  the  sun-god  must  have  been  drinking  too  much 
and  fallen  asleep,  or  when  in  the  Asinaria  a  slave  who  is 
planning  a  theft,  takes  the  auspices  to  see  if  they  are  favor- 
able. Colin  believes  that  such  passages  accustomed  the 
people  to  ridicule  the  gods,  but  it  is  a  question  whether  this 
conclusion  is  justified.  In  the  first  place  the  passages  which 
he  mentions  are  greatly  outnumbered  by  passages  which 
reveal  unmistakably  both  reverence  and  respect.  Then,  too, 
the  characters  who  utter  the  sentiments  to  which  he  refers 
(Amph.  282,  Pseud.  840-2,  Pers.  251  et  seq.,  Asin.  259, 
Epid.  183-4,  Trin.  39  et  seq.)  are  in  nearly  every  instance 

*  Colin,  he.  cit.  cf.  Plaut.  Rud.  i,  et  seq, 

*  Plaut.  Capt.  3 1 3-5  : 

*'  est  profecto  deu',  qui  quae  nos  gerimus  auditque  et  uidet: 
is,  uti  tu  me  hie  habueris,  proinde  ilium  illic  curauerit; 
bene  merenti  bene  profuerit,  male  merenti  par  erit." 
Cf.  Ennius  Ann.  Lib.  Inc.  CV.  580,  ed.  Vahl.  p.  107:  "  diuum  hominum- 
que  pater  rex  " ;  ibid.  LXXI.  542,  p.  99;  Thyestes  V.  345,  ed.  Vahl.  p.  184. 


124 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[124 


r 

\ 


\ 


slaves,  who,  as  they  were  probably  foreigners,  did  not  ex- 
press perhaps,  and  were  not  expected  to  express,  the  senti- 
ments of  a  true  Roman. 

In  the  passage  from  the  Trimimmus  2l  man,  after  a  for- 
mal prayer  to  the  gods  for  the  protection  of  his  house, 
closes  with  a  wish  that  he  might  get  rid  of  his  wife.  This, 
however,  is  hardly  more  than  another  instance  of  the  oft- 
repeated  railing  against  marriage  which  is  found  through- 
out the  comedies.  As  to  the  effect  of  its  being  joined,  as 
Colin  points  out,  to  the  most  solemn  and  official  formula,  it 
is  possible  that  the  Romans,  who  had  definite  formulae  not 
only  for  prayer  but  for  almost  all  legal  and  social  dealings 
with  each  other,  did  not  attach  quite  so  much  significance 
to  a  formula,  and  that  its  use  in  this  way  was  not  so  repug- 
nant even  to  the  really  pious. 

Furthermore,  admitting  that  the  gods  are  in  some  cases 
alluded  to  lightly  in  the  comedies,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  the  ancient  conception  of  the  gods  was  different  from 
ours.  The  religious  myths  pictured  the  deities  with  more 
or  less  human  passions  and  foibles,  and  therefore  an  allu- 
sion, for  example,  to  Jupiter's  enjoyment  of  the  appetizing 
odors  from  an  earthly  banquet  did  not  shock  the  Roman 
audience  as  it  would  a  modem  one. 

Finally,  in  any  case  and  at  any  time  the  presentations  of 
the  stage  cannot  be  taken  as  representative  of  the  moral  and 
religious  attitude  of  a  community.  They  are  inclined  to  be, 
if  anything,  below  the  standard.  The  stage,  and  especially 
the  comic  stage,  aims  to  amuse  or  to  appeal  to  a  certain  ele- 
ment ;  the  actors  voice  sentiments  in  keeping  with  the  char- 
acters which  they  portray,  and  we  should  not  judge  the 
Romans  wholly  by  their  comedies  any  more  than  we  would 
wish  some  of  the  productions  of  the  present  day  to  serve 
as  criterions  of  our  own  standards.  A  people  whose  theater 
expressed  such  sentiments  as  "  qui  deorum  consilia  culpet 


125] 


RELIGION 


125 


stultus  inscitusque  sit/'  a  people  of  whom  Polybius  tells  us 
before  the  battle  of  Cannae  that 

all  the  oracles  preserved  at  Rome  were  in  everybody's  mouth ; 
and  every  temple  and  house  was  full  of  prodigies  and  miracles : 
in  consequence  of  which  the  city  was  one  scene  of  vows,  sacri- 
fices, supplicatory  processions,  and  prayers.  For  the  Romans 
look  upon  no  ceremony  of  that  kind  ...  as  unbecom- 
ing or  beneath  their  dignity,* 

that  people  taken  as  a  whole  is  not  to  be  considered  as  har- 
boring strongly  irreligious  or  irreverent  tendencies.  j 
One  point,  however,  which  does  suggest  that  the  respect 
attached  to  religious  functions  was  declining,  is  that  we  find 
in  this  period  important  offices  given  to  mere  youths.  In 
212  B.  C.  from  the  three  candidates  for  the  place  of  pontifex 
niaximus  P.  Licinius,  who  was  about  to  be  candidate  for 
the  office  of  curule  aedile,  was  chosen,  although  for  one 
hundred  and  twenty  years  the  rule  had  been  observ'^ed  with 
only  one  exception  that  no  citizen  was  selected  as  pontifex 
nuurimus  *'  qui  sella  curuli  non  sedisset.''  A  few  years 
later,  in  204  B.  C,  Ti.  Sempronius  was  made  an  augur  at  a 
very  early  age,  and  the  following  year  Q.  Fabius  Maximus 
became  augur  when  he  was  still  so  young  that  when  he  died 
in  196  B.  C.  he  had  not  yet  filled  any  magistracy." 

As  the  games  dedicated  to  the  various  deities  or  those 
given  by  private  individuals  in  honor  of  the  deceased  were 
an  integral  part  of  the  religion  of  the  Romans,  it  is  neces- 
sary before  leaving  the  question  of  religion  to  give  some 
slight  account  of  the  changes  which  were  taking  place  in 
this  sphere.     Up  to  169  B.  C.  the  custom  of  bringing  wild 

iPlaut.  Mil.  Glor.  7^\  Polyb-  I^l-  "2. 

«Liv.  XXV.  5.  1-4;  XXIX.  38.  7;  XXX.  26.  10  cf.  XXXIII.  42.  6: 
"  Q.  Fabius  Maximus  augur  mortuus  est  admodum  adulescens,  pnus- 
quam  ullum  magistratum  caperet," 


126 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[126 


beasts  together  from  a  great  number  of  countries  was  not 
yet  in  vogue,  and  the  aim  was  rather  to  produce  variety  in 
the  exhibitions.^  In  fact,  the  importation  to  Italy  of  feroc- 
ious animals  from  Africa  had  been  formally  prohibited  by 
the  Senate.  This  decree  was  abrogated,  however,  and  in 
168  B.  C.  in  the  aedileship  of  Scipio  Nasica  and  P.  Len- 
tulus  they  presented  sixty-three  panthers  and  forty  bears 
and  elephants  in  the  Circus.-  From  that  time  on  the  num- 
ber continued  to  increase. 

Not  only  the  character  of  the  entertainments  was  be- 
coming more  magnificent,  but  the  number  of  festivals  was 
increasing.  Festivals  which  had  formerly  been  held  only 
occasionally  were  tending  to  become  permanently  fixed.  In 
202  B.  C.  the  Cerialia  were  definitely  established  although 
they  had  originated  long  before;  in  191  B.  C.  the  Megalesia 
were  instituted;  and  the  Floralia,  instituted  in  238  B.  C, 
were  revived  in  173  B.  C' 

Greenidge  in  his  consideration  of  this  subject  makes  the 
statement  that  it  ''  proved  that  the  Roman  was  willing  to 
bend  his  austere  religion  to  purposes  of  gratification,  when 
he  could  afiford  the  luxury."  *  The  funeral  games  naturally 
are  not  to  be  included  without  reserve  in  this  category,  as 
the  splendor  with  which  they  were  celebrated  was  looked 
on  largely  as  a  tribute  of  honor  to  the  deceased.    As  to  the 

*Liv.  XLIV.  9,  4:  "  mos  erat  turn,  nondum  hac  effusione  inducia 
bestiis  omnium  gentium  circum  conplendi,  uaria  spectaculorum  con- 
quirere  genera." 

'Plin.  H.  N.  VIII.  17  (24).  64:  "senatus  consultum  fuit  uetus  ne 
li^eret  Africanas  in  Italiam  aduehere,  contra  hoc  tulit  ad  populum  Cn. 
AuHdius  tribunus  plebis,  permisitque  circensium  gratia  inportare"', 
Liv.  XLIV.  18.  8. 

» Cerialia:  Liv.  XXX.  39-  8;  Megalesia:  Liv.  XXXVI.  36.  4;  Graillot, 
op.  cit.  pp.  81-2  points  out  that  these  were  the  only  games  at  Rome 
which  bore  an  exotic  name;  Floralia:  Plin.  H,  N.  XVIII.  29  (69). 
286  cf.  Sayous,  op.  cit.,  p.  69. 

*  Greenidge,  History  of  Rome  (New  York,  1905),  vol.  i,  p.  25. 


127] 


RELIGION 


127 


public  games  their  magnificence  was  in  part  a  tribute  to  the 
god  and  in  part  a  sanctioned  and  legitimate  method  of  ob- 
taining for  the  officials  in  charge  the  favor  and  support  of 
the  people.  The  growing  extravagance  of  presentation, 
moreover,  did  not  imply  a  correspondingly  larger  outlay  on 
the  part  of  the  state  as  a  whole.  About  the  time  of  the  first 
Punic  War  the  rule  had  been  established  that  the  expenses 
of  the  public  games  were  not  to  be  met  exclusively  by  the 
treasury,  and  it  was  only  occasionally  that  the  people  them- 
selves contributed.^ 

The  change  in  the  character  of  the  games  was  in  keeping 
with  the  changes  seen  in  all  phases  of  social  and  private  life 
as  an  attendant  result  of  the  increase  of  riches  and  the  de- 
sire for  ostentation.  As  the  wealthy  were  furnishing  their 
homes  more  luxuriously,  multiplying  the  number  of  their 
slaves  and  attendants,  engaging  in  large  commercial  ven- 
tures and  the  like,  so  in  their  presentation  of  the  games  they 
inclined,  as  is  to  be  expected,  to  greater  pretentiousness 
without  any  thought  of  lowering  the  dignity  of  their  re- 
ligion in  so  doing. 

^  Dion.  VII.  71 ;  Plin.  H.  N.  XXXIII.  10  (47).  138:  "populus  Romanus 
spargere  coepit  Sp.  Postumio  Q.  Marcio  cos.;  tanta  abundantia  pecunia 
erat,  ut  earn  conferret  L.  Scipioni,  ex  qua  is  ludos  fecit.'* 


CHAPTER  VIII 


Morals  and  Character 

Now  that  the  principal  phases  of  Roman  social  and  pri- 
vate life  have  been  considered  and  the  extent  to  which  each 
was  affected  by  the  influences  of  the  time,  it  is  interestmg  in 
conclusion  to  consider  in  the  same  way  another  topic  which 
although  less  concrete  is  of  great  importance  for  a  clear 
comprehension  of  Roman  life  as  a  whole.  This  topic  is  the 
Roman  character  as  such.  Any  discussion  of  it  naturally 
involves  the  question  whether  or  not  the  close  contact  with 
Greek  ideas  induced  corruption.  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that 
there  was  a  certain  deterioration,  but  how  lasting  were  its 
results  and  how  far  it  was  due  to  Greek  influence  are  open 

to  debate.  ^  .    .  i        r  .  t. 

From  the  sources  it  is  possible  to  gain  a  fair  idea  of  the 
essential  characteristics  of  the  Roman  of  the  time.    Respect 
for  the  gods,  respect  for  the  great  ancestors  of  his  house, 
respect  for  his  parents  was  an  integral  part  of  his  life.     His 
most  striking  trait,  however,  the  one  which  pervaded  all 
religious,  social,  and  business  intercourse,  was  his  precise 
formality.    The  Roman  was  thoroughly  business-like.    His 
dealings  with  the  gods  were  on  a  strict  basis  of  give  and 
take    and  the  comedies  abound  in   specific   formulae   for 
practicallv  ever>^  act  of  daily  life  -  of  emancipation    of 
politeness,  of  good  augury,  of  leave-taking,  of  torothal,  of 
<riving  money,  of  concluding  a  bargain,  and  of  taking  oath. 


I  Formula  of  politeness  Plaut.  Epid.  4601:  ^' uolo  te  uerb^s  P^«;«  «J 

si  tibi  molestum  non  es^ :  of  good  augury  Poen.  16:      honum  factum 

128  ^'^^ 


129]  MORALS  AND  CHARACTER  129 

The  people  of  Plautus  swear  by  the  objects  dear  to  them — 
so,  for  example,  a  cook  swears  by  Lauema,  the  goddess  of 
thieves,  '*  ita  me  bene  amet  Lauerna''  and  a  parasite  by 
''  sancta  Saturitas/'  ^  An  oath  was  looked  upon  as  sacred. 
Even  a  meretrix  boasts  that  whatever  the  faults  and  vices 
of  her  class,  no  one  can  accuse  them  of  breaking  a  ius 
iuranduMy  and  words  cannot  be  found  to  express  the  con- 
tempt and  amazement  felt  for  the  man  who  did  not  keep 
his  solemn  oath.^  A  striking  instance  of  the  binding  force 
of  the  oath  occurred  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  Punic 
War.  Just  as  the  soldiers  were  ready  to  embark,  the  news 
arrived  of  the  entrance  of  Hannibal  into  Italy.  The  consul, 
realizing  that  his  men  could  make  their  way  more  effec- 
tively as  individuals  than  in  the  mass,  called  the  soldiers 
together,  administered  the  oath  to  them,  and  then  dis- 
missed them  with  orders  to  reassemble  at  Ariminum  at  a 
certain  time.  On  the  day  appointed  "  his  men  met  Tiberius 
at  Ariminum,  according  to  their  oath/*  ^ 

As  has  already  been  mentioned,  the  Romans  were  veryi 
precise  in  all  money  matters,  both  in  purely  commercial} 
transactions  and  in  their  dealings  with  friends  and  relations.j 
Scipio,  who  paid  over  a  dowry  before  it  was  due  in  accord- 
ance with  the  sentiment  that  "  close  reckoning  and  legal 
exactness  were  for  strangers,"  so  astonished  the  recipients 
that  although  they  were  men  "  of  as  high  character  as  any 

esse  " ;  of  leave-taking  Ter.  Eun.  191 :  "  nuni  quid  uis  aliud  " ;  of  giv- 
ing money  Plaut.  Bacc.  880-3:  "  dabinf .  .dabuntur" ;  of  concluding  a 
bargain  Stick.  565 :  ''  fiat " ;  of  taking  oath  Mil.  Glor,  501,  Capt.  S77, 
Ter.  Phortn.  165:  ''ita  me  ament . .  .** 

^  Plaut.  Aul.  445,  Capt.  %77- 

'Plaut.  Cist,  495  cf.  500-3;  Ter.  Ad.  306,  et  seq.:  ''quern  neque  fides 
neque  ius  itirandum  neque  ilium  misericordia  \  repressit  neque  reiiexit 
...  I  ...non  intellego  satis  quae  loquitur'';  for  further  instances  of  the 
binding  force  of  the  oath  cf.  Plaut.  Bacc.  1025,  et  seq.,  Merc.  420-2. 

»Polyb.  in.  61,  68. 


130  SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME  [130 

at  Rome,"  according  to  Polybius,  "  they  returned  home  in 
silence,  quite  confounded  at  the  magnanimity  of  Scipio/' 
The  author  is  careful  to  tell  us,  however,  that  Scipio  culti- 
vated lofty  sentiments  towards  money  and  "  a  higher  stand- 
ard of  disinterestedness  than  other  people."  ' 

As  a  rule,  the  Romans  were  honest.     The  frequently 
quoted  passage  of"Tolybius   (Vi.   56)   contrasts  the  hon- 
esty of  the  Romans  with  the  dishonesty  of  the  Greeks,  but 
his  statements  cannot  be  taken  absolutely  as  a  criterion 
in  view  of  the  differences  in  the  innate  character  of  the  two 
peoples.    The  Greeks  were  apt  to  infer  guilt  without  suffi- 
cient proof,  whereas  the  Romans  >vere_not  only  less  sus- 
picious,  but^lso  found  it  much  more  difficult  to  convict  an 
""official,    it  is  interesting  to  note,  however,  that  the  Romans 
themselves  complacently  regarded  themselves  as  superior  to 
the  Greeks  in  honesty,  and  a  synonym  for  complete  absence 
of  credit  was  "  Gracca  -fide  mercarir  -     Polybius  speaks 
especially  of  the  high  standards  of  the  Romans  in  the  period 
before  the  foreign  wars,  but  he  states  his  belief  that  the 
majority  of  men  at  Rome  are  still  "  capable  of  preserving 
their  honesty,"  ^  and  as  notable  examples  gives  Aeniilius 
Paulus  and  Scipio  Aemilianus. 

The  element  of  character  which  was  regarded  by  the 
Romans  as  most  important  for  pubHc  life  w-as  courage,  and 
the  penalty  for  desertion  of  one's  post^was  death.  In  a  few 
instances  we  hear  of  soldiers,  and  at  Cannae  even  of  a  com- 
manding officer,  becoming  panic-stricken  in  the  face  of  new 
methods  of  fighting  or  of  overwhelming  odds,  but  such 
cases  were  in  the  minority.  On  the  contrary,  heroism  was 
displayed  again  and  again,  and  sometimes  exaggefaTeT^o 
the  point  of  recklessness.    That  the  Romans  of  the  Punic 

1  Polyb.  XXXII.  12,  13. 

2  Plaut.  Asin.  199. 

'  Polyb.  XVIII.  35. 


J31]  MORALS  AND  CHARACTER  131 

War  period,  moreover,  whether  soldiers  or  civilians,  could 
be  depended  on  for  public  spirit,  is  shown  in  their  answer 
to  the  appeal  for  a  fleet.  -At'lW^  time,  as  there  was  no 
money  in  the  treasury  to  defray  the  expenses,  private  asso- 
ciations undertook  the  construction  of  two  hundred  quin- 
queremes,  to  be  paid  for  when  the  Romans  should  be  vic- 
torious.^ The  refusal  of  the  Romans  under  any  conditions 
to  admit  themselves  vanquished,  is  signalized  by  Polybius 
as  "  a  peculiarity  .  .  .  which  they  have  inherited  from  their 

ancestors."  ^ 

It  must  not  be  imagined  that  every  Roman  w^as  as  ideal 
as  the  Scipios  or  Aemilius  Paulus,  the  three  men  used 
almost  exclusively  by  Polybius  as  illustrations.  Even  this 
writer,  who  speaks  so  highly  of  Roman  integrity,  himself 
gives  instances  to  the  contrary  such  as  a  victorious  general 
induced  by  bribes  to  show  leniency  towards  the  conquered, 
or  the  Senate  judiciously  persuaded  to  espouse  a  question- 
able cause.  ^ 

Bribery  on  a  smaller  scale  often  found  its  way  into  the 
elections.  The  laws  against  it,  in  spite  of  the  death  penalty 
attached,''  were  more  or  less  disregarded,  and  there  was 
frequent  necessity  for  new  enactments.  A  law  against 
ambitus  (illegal  canvassing)  existed  in  the  time  of  Plautus; 
another  was  proposed  in  181  B.  C.,  and  still  another  sev- 
eral years  later. ^  Plautus  in  the  Trhmmmus  comments  on 
existing  conditions  in  the  words :  ''  ambitio  iam  more  sanc- 
tasf,  liberast  a  legibus/'  ^ 

» Polyb.  XXXII.  15;  I.  17;  I.  39.  et  seq.,  53,  IH-  ^4-6.  116;  heroism 
cf.  I.  37,  ni.  75.  X.  32,  et  seq. ;  fleet  I.  59- 
'  Polyb.  XXVII.  8  cf.  XXIV.  12. 
'  Polyb.  III.  96.  II.  31,  XXXIII.  15-8. 
*  Polyb.  VI.  56. 
3  Plaut.  Amph.  71 ;  Liv.  XL.  19.  ",  Ep,  XLVII. 

« Plaut.  Trin.  1033. 


132 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[13^ 


The   fondness  of   the  Romans   for   money   contributed 
especially  to  weaken  their  moral  resistance  to  opportunities 
for  pecuniary  gain,  even  when  those  opportunities  were  not 
strictly  legal.    This  fact  is  evidenced  not  only  in  the  matter 
of  bribery  but  in  other  matters  as  well.    To  cheat  the  state 
apparently  did  not  greatly  trouble  their  conscience.     The 
e\^asion  of  the  law  by  the  financiers  in  their  exaction  of 
usurious  interest  has  already  been  mentioned,  and  some- 
times powerful  speculators  went  still  further.     Livy  gives 
us  a  striking  illustration  of  this :  as  the  state  assumed  any 
risk  of  loss  in  contracts  for  army  supplies,  the  scheme  was 
not  unknown  of  loading  a  ship  with  a  more  or  less  worth- 
less cargo,  deliberately  sinking  it  in  mid-sea,  and  then  col- 
lecting a  large  sum  for  the  loss  of  the  supposedly  valuable 
commodities  on  board.     This  practice  of  false  shipwreck, 
however,  does  not  imply  a  callousness  on  the  part  of  the 
perpetrators  as  to  the  possible  loss  of  life,  for  the  sailors 
were  taken  off  in  boats  prepared  for  the  purpose.'    To  de- 
fraud the  state  on  such  a  large  scale  could  not,  of  course. 
be  a  very  widespread  practice,  but  the  principle  extended  to 
smaller  things.     For  example,  there  were  many  highly  rep- 
utable Romans  who  did  not  scruple  to  divert  the  public  water 
to  their  own  private  use.^ 

It  was  inevitable  that  the  rapid  and  enormous  influx  of 
wealth  into  Rome  from  her  foreign  conquests  should  dis- 
turb the  social  and  moral  equilibrium.  Polybius  recognizes 
this  condition,  and  says  that  when  a  commonwealth,  after 
warding  off  great  dangers,  has  reached  a  high  point  of 
prosperity  and  undisputed  power,  by  the  lengthened  contin- 
uance of  great  wealth  in  it  the  manner  of  life  of  its  citizens 

»Liv.  XXV.  3.  10,  II. 

'Liv.  XXXIX.  44.  4.  This  practise  among  the  Romans  may  be 
paralleled  to  some  extent  by  the  attitude  of  many  citizens  of  to-day 
towards  certain  public  service  corporations. 


133] 


MORALS  AND  CHARACTER 


133 


will  become  more  extravagant,  and  rivalry  for  office  and  in 
other  spheres  of  activity  will  become  too  strenuous.'  This 
was  precisely  the  case  in  Rome.  As  early  as  200  B.  C, 
according  to  Livy,  the  people  were  wearied  by  the  length 
and  severity  of  the  war  against  Hannibal,  and  disgusted 
with  toils  and  dangers,^  and  after  the  battle  of  Pydna  had 
definitely  established  their  power,  the  Romans  might  well 
be  expected  to  seek  relaxation. 

For  a  time  this  was  doubtless  carried  to  extremes.  Plau- 
tus  is  not  without  reason  in  saying :  '"  nam  nunc  lenonum 
et  scortorum  plus  est  fere  quam  olim  muscarum  est  quom 
caletur  maxume,''  and  Polybius  paints  in  vivid  colors  a  pic- 
ture of  the  average  Roman  youth  wasting  himself  "  on 
favorite  youths,  ...  on  mistresses,  on  banquets  enlivened 
with  poetry  and  wine,  and  all  the  extravagant  expenditure 
they  entailed."  ^  Scipio,  an  exception  to  the  general  rule, 
refuses  a  beautiful  maiden  who  is  offered  to  him,  but  even 
he  admits  that  such  interests,  out  of  place  in  times  of  activ- 
ity, are  most  agreeable  and  permissible  in  times  of  relaxa- 
tion. Much  the  same  thought,  expressed  as  it  is  in  the 
comedies,  doubtless  influenced  many  a  young  Roman.* 

In  any  case  a  strong  current  of  reaction  soon  set  in. 
Practical  measures  were  taken  to  stem  the  tide  of  extrava- 
gance. In  182  B.  C.  the  lex  Orchia  was  passed  limiting  the 
number  of  guests,  and  twenty  years  later  the  lex  Fannia 
limited  the  expenditures  permissible  for  such  purposes.' 
The  center  of  the  resistance  was  Cato,  who  inveighed  so 


» Polyb.  VI.  57- 

^Liv.  XXXI.  6.  3,  4:  "tcf  cum  fessi  diuturnitate  et  grauitate  belli  sua 
sponte  homines  taedio  periculorum  laborumqtie  fecerant'* 

'Plaut.  True.  64-5;  Polyb.  XXXII.  11. 

♦Polyb.  X.  19  cf.  Plaut.  Bacc.  416,  et  seq.;  Ter.  Ad.  loi,  et  seq. 

^Macrob.  Sat.  III.  17.  cf.  Cato  Orat.  reliq.  XXVII.  4  ed.  Jord.  p.  53- 


A  34 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[134 


fruitlessly  against  the  repeal  of  the  Oppian  law/  but  other 
eminent  Romans  were  equally  strict.  As  examples,  Q.  Fa- 
bius  Maximus,  who  reproached  Scipio  for  his  fondness  for 
things  Greek,  L.  Valerius  Flaccus,  the  colleague  of  Cato  in 
the  censorship,  Tiberius  Gracchus,  the  father  of  the  famous 
tribunes,  may  be  mentioned.  The  last-named,  in  fact,  gained 
such  a  reputation  for  severity,  that  when  he  was  censor,  the 
citizens  put  out  their  lights  so  that  they  might  not  be  sur- 
prised prolonging  their  banquets  and  parties  until  too  late 

an  hour." 

Furthermore,  these  eminent  men  were  not  alone  in  the 
stand  they  took,  but  were  backed  in  their  efforts  by  popular 
sentiment.     The  attitude  of  the  people  is  clearly  shown  by 
the  fact  that  they  voted  to  Cato  in  witness  of  their  approval 
of  his  actions  a  statue  in  the  temple  of  Hygeia."    Whatever 
the  force  attained  by  the  tide  of  extravagant  luxury,  there- 
fore, it  is  evident  that  the  Romans  as  a  whole  were  not 
overwhelmed  by  it  nor  oblivious  to  the  dangers  it  presented. 
In  every  class  were  men  who  saw  the  consequences  it  might 
entail.     Ennius,  the  client  of  the  eminent  M.  Fulvius  No- 
bilior,  reflects  in  his  Annals  the  principles  of  Cato  in  the 
words,  "  moribus  antiquis  res  stat  rommm  uirisquej'  and 
Plautus,  the  spokesman  of  the  masses,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  his  plays  are  generally  taken  as  indisputable  evi- 
dence of  the  moral  looseness  of  the  time,  also  sighs  for  the 

''  mores  honos"  * 

As  to  the  ''  injurious ''  effects  of  Hellenism,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  contact  of  Rome  with  Greek  civiliza- 

» Liv.  XXXIV.  2-4. 

nAv.  XXIX.  19;  XXXIX.  41.  i:  "  J^o  uno  cflllega  castigarc  se  noua 
Hagitia  et  priscos  reuocare  mores  posse";  Plut.  Tib.  Grace.  14. 

*  Plut.  Cat.  maj.  IQ- 

*  Ennius  Ann.  Lib.  Inc.  XXXVII,  ed.  Vahl.  p.  91;  Plaut.  Trin.  28: 
"  warn  hie  nimium  morbus  mores  inuasit  bonos." 


135] 


MORALS  AND  CHARACTER 


135 


tion  can  in  no  way  be  dated  from  this  period.    From  earliest 
times  Rome  had  been  in  touch  with  the  Greek  cities  of 
South  Italy,  and  had  derived  much  of  her  culture  from 
them.    Whether  or  not  the  introduction  on  a  large  scale  of 
Greek  educational  and  philosophic  ideas  in  this  period  had 
a  harmful  effect  cannot  be  considered  absolutely.     It  de- 
pended entirely  upon  the  character  of  the  individual.     In 
some  cases,  of  course,  the  admiration  for  Greek  learning 
was  carried  so  far  that  it  was  ridiculous,  as  in  Aulus  Post- 
umius  Albinus.    Unable  to  discriminate,  as  we  are  told,  he 
imitated  all  the  worst  points  in  Greek  fashions,  and  attempt- 
ing a  poem  and  formal  history  in  that  tongue,  apologized  if 
he  did  not  have  a  complete  command  of  Greek  idiom  and 

method.^ 

Even  the  most  eminent  and  admirable  men  of  the  time, 
however,   were   interested   in   such  things.      Cato  himself 
studied   under   a    Pythagorean   philosopher,    spoke   Greek 
readily,  and  approved  of  a  reasonable  familiarity  with  Greek 
literature ; '  Aemilius  Paulus  and  Tiberius  Gracchus  both 
gave  Greek  philosophers  a  share  in  the  education  of  their 
children;  Flamininus  spoke  Greek  and  set  up  a  statue  to 
himself  in  Rome  with  a  Greek  inscription;'  Scipio  was 
notably  fond  of  things  Greek.*    Moreover,  as  has  already 
been  pointed  out,  the  influence  of  Greek  philosophic  ideas, 
harmful  or  otherwise,  was  largely  limited  to  the  intellectuals. 
The  people  as  a  whole  cared  little  for  philosophy,  and  re- 
fused to  take  it  seriously.  "* 

1  Polyb.  XXXIX.  12  cf.  A.  Postumii  Albini  Graeci  Annales  I, 
Peter,  Hist.  Rom.  Reliq.,  vol.  i,  p.  53- 

» Plut.  Cat.  maj.  2,  12;  Cato  Libri  ad  Mar  cum  Filiuml,  ed.  Jord.  p.  77: 
"  bonum  sit  illorum  litteras  inspicere,  non  pcrdiscere." 

*  Plut.  Flamin.  i,  6. 

*  Liv.  XXIX.  19. 

*Plaut    Pseud.  974:   "  saluos  sum,  iam  philosophatur" ;   Capt.  284: 
'^salua  res  est,  philosophutur   quoque  iam,  non   mendax  modo   est, 
Merc.  145-7  ^/-  Ter.  And.  55-7- 


136 


SOCIAL  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE  AT  ROME 


[136 


1 


The  difference  between  the  tastes  of  the  two  nations  was 
too  great  for  Greek  culture  to  have  a  very  great  attraction 
for  the  masses.  The  humor  of  the  Romans  was  broader 
and  cruder  than  that  of  the  Greeks,  and  we  are  told  that 
the  comic  poets  in  their  adaptations  of  the  Greek  plays 
'' facetiis  atque  luminibus  obsolescuntJ'  An  example  of 
this  is  seen  in  the  Plocium  of  Caecilius,  where  he  introduces 
a  coarse  jest  not  found  in  the  original  piece.^  For  purely 
Greek  spectacles  the  populace  had  little  appreciation.  On 
one  occasion  the  most  famous  artists  were  imported  from 
Greece  for  the  triumphal  games,  but  the  attention  of  the 
audience  could  not  be  held  by  their  musical  skill  alone,  and 
in  order  to  win  favor  they  had  to  enliven  their  performance 
with  a  sham  boxing-match." 

•  The  average  Roman  viewed  Greek  ideas  and  habits  with 
.  distrust.  Probably  many  a  Roman,  sighing  like  Lycon  in 
'  the  Bacchides  of  Plautus,^  for  the  good  old  days,  lamented 
the  change  in  the  system  of  education,  and  failed  to  appre- 
ciate the  advantages  of  the  broader  cultural  training  it  im- 
plied. In  the  common  speech  of  the  day,  "  to  live  a  Greek 
life,"  pergraecarL  was  synonymous  with  reprehensible  lux- 
ury and  license.'  The  attitude  of  the  majority  of  Romans 
towards  the  Greeks  was  very  similar  perhaps  to  that  of 
many  estimable  people  of  the  present  day  towards  New 
York.  To  them  the  name  "  New  York  "  conveys  imme- 
diately the  suggestion  of  prodigality  that  ''  pergraecari'' 
did  to  the  conservative  Roman,  and  just  as  we  are  ready  to 
recognize  this  modern  attitude  as  unduly  emphasizing  a 

»Aul.  Gell.  II.  23  cf.  Caecil.  Stat.  Plocium  II  (2),  Ribb.  Frag,  Com. 
p.  63:  '' dat  ieiuna  anima.  nil  peccat  de  sauio:  \  ut  deuomas  uolt  quod 
foris  potaueris  "  cf.  Plaut.  Merc.  574- 

•-^Polyb.  XXX.  14. 

*  Plaut.  Bacc.  419..  et  seq. 

*  Plaut.  True.  88,  Most.  22,  Bacc.  743- 


j^-r]  MORALS  AND  CHARACTER  137 

single  point  of  unfavorable  criticism  without  making  proper 
allowance  for  individual  tendencies,  so  we  must  in  the  case 
of  the  ancient.  Scipio,  and  later  the  two  Gracchi,  as  con- 
spicuous products  of  the  new  training  and  intimately  asso- 
ciated in  their  youth  with  Greek  philosophers,  effectively 
dispel  the  belief  that  the  ideas  being  introduced  into  educa- 
tion from  contact  with  Greece,  were  in  themselves  harmful. 
The  choice  made  by  the  Romans  from  the  world  of  Greek 
art,  culture,  and  luxury  thus  opened  to  them,  rested  en- 
tirely with  the  Romans  themselves.  In  proportion  as  the 
civilized  man  is  superior  to  the  barbarian,  the  Romans  were 
not  corrupted  but  improved  by  their  contact  with  Hellenism. 


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